A Good Night
by themarshal
Summary: The crew of the SSV Normandy has its first night of shore leave in weeks.  Alice Shepard struggles to reconcile her role as Commander with her feelings about her crew.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note (2011/05/01):** _There have been some major revisions to the first four chapters, which I feel make the entire rest of the story read better. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Standing in the mess hall, leaning against the counter while waiting for coffee to finish brewing, Commander Alice Shepard marveled at how quiet the _Normandy_ seemed. She mused that Tali would say that for a spaceship it was always quiet, too quiet, that on a quarian ship quiet meant that there was a mechanical failure and you were all about to die. With the engines off and half the crew having departed for shore leave, even to Alice it had begun to feel _very_ quiet. Aside from her, at the moment nobody was in the mess, and why would they be? For going on ten weeks now (or was it eleven?) the crew had to make due with nothing but Alliance provisions for food and each other for company. Funny, she thought, that when they finally managed to find enough time between missions to take a full night of leave, most of the crew wound up spending that time together anyway.

_Albeit anywhere but here, though_, she thought with a grin. Having been born and raised planetside, she appreciated the draw of getting off of the ship, of breathing un-recycled air, of standing on solid ground, smelling the scents and hearing the sounds of a living world. The semi-regular ground missions that she led were a welcome reprieve from the confines of the Alliance ship on which she now stood – the design of which had obviously valued military precision and efficiency over creature comforts – but they were still no substitute for an honest-to-God night without duty.

Alice sighed. Of course, _wanting_ a night without duty didn't make it so. She was the Commander, the one in charge. In her eyes, that left very little room for relaxation.

When she heard the hiss of a door sliding open nearby, she froze and held her breath, as though by not moving she'd somehow become invisible to whoever was about to step through the door. Not that she really needed to hide from anyone, she simply wanted to avoid the question that she'd already been asked a dozen times so far tonight. Two of the engineering crew walked out of the elevator, one of them turning and smiling at her.

"Hey Commander," he called out, waving. His name was Crosby, or maybe it was Felawa… Given how much time she spent in engineering chatting with Tali she really felt that should have memorized everyone's name by now… "You hitting the town tonight?" he asked.

Alice fought back the urge to roll her eyes. So far everyone she had come across tonight had asked her that question in one form or another, and much as she'd like to reply in the affirmative – if only to shake things up – it wasn't going to happen. "Nah, not tonight, Crosby. You and Chase have fun out there," she took a shot with the names, hoping she wouldn't embarrass herself. "Just don't get into _too_ much trouble. I'm not bailing anyone out of jail _this_ time," she added with a wink.

Both men smiled. "We'll try, Commander. By the way, Chief Williams is looking for you. If I see her, I'll send her your way," Crosby mentioned with a wave goodbye.

Alice returned the wave as a sinking feeling entered her stomach. Chief Williams – Ashley, as the weeks had gone by – had been Alice's most vociferous advocate for going out tonight. That likely had more than a little to do with the possibility that Liara was planning on joining Ashley and the rest of the ground crew for drinks and dancing at a local club. Ever since Alice had – accidentally – mentioned to the Gunnery Chief that she felt a connection with Liara, Ash had been so aggravatingly _helpful_ in trying to get the two of them together in some form or another.

_But it's not going to happen_, Alice thought to herself. _Not tonight. And probably not ever, so long as you're the Commander…_

She turned as the coffee machine let out a little *clack*, indicating it had finished its brew cycle. She briefly wondered if something a little more audible – like a blaring klaxon, complete with flashing lights and buzzers – would be more appropriate of a signal for fresh coffee, given how quickly the crew managed to go through the stuff. She smiled at the thought and poured herself a mug from the virginal pot, preparing herself for the rest of the night.

* * *

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams stood in the hallway leading to the crew quarters. Most of the crew of the _Normandy _had already gone to ground for shore leave for the night, a fact that caused her impatience to rise. She'd been waiting for a night like this for weeks, and she didn't want a single minute to be wasted just 'cause some of the crew couldn't get dressed fast enough. She brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face, another reminder of the lengths she was going to in tonight. Her hair, normally pulled back in a tight bun, had been unleashed in all its long, wavy glory. Not something she'd _ever_ allow in the field, but that's what nights like tonight were for. Still, having the hair brushing against her neck and shoulders had nearly driven her nuts, so she compromised by loosely pinning most of it back, leaving a few strands to frame her face and bother her occasionally by blocking her line of sight. She grumbled and crossed her arms, leaving heavily against the door jamb.

"Hey LT!" she called out over her shoulder. "You done powdering your nose, yet? I wanna go!"

She turned her head as the door opened and Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko stepped out, hands meticulously teasing his hair. Ashley casually eyed his physique through the loose-fitting dark blue shirt and far more form-hugging dark pants.

"Not bad, LT," she remarked with a grin.

Kaidan turned at the voice and noticed for the first time Ashley's attire. His eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight. Gone was the armor, replaced with a snug, single-shouldered black tank-top and a long lavender skirt, cut so that the way she was leaning revealed a fair amount of her thigh. Her combat boots – armored and no-nonsense – had been replaced with black leather and high heels. The outfit certainly highlighted the finer features of her well-toned soldier's body. Coupled with the casual hairstyle she looked… pretty damn good.

"Wow," was all he could manage, eyes still scanning her.

"Damn right, wow!" Ashley haughtily smirked. "I _bring it_! And I just so happen to bring it faster than others…" She eyeballed his hands, still entangled in his hair. "You gonna mess with your hair all night, LT? You know some girl's just gonna run her fingers through it first chance she gets and all that work will be for nothing!"

"I think if she's running her hands through my hair, all that work will have _paid off_," he corrected with a small smile before self-consciously dropping his hands to his side. "Sorry I took so long, though. Not all of us can get ready as fast as you can."

"Fast?" Ashley balked, placing a hand on her hip. "I grew up with three sisters and one bathroom. _Fast_ doesn't cut it. I could set _records_ and still look this good!" She added, wagging a finger in his face.

"Ah, good. I was worried that I would make everyone late," came a soft voice from the other end of the hallway. Ashley and Kaidan turned to see Liara T'Soni making her way towards them.

Ashley's eyes scanned Liara. She had doffed her green and white scientist's lab suit, which Ashley always found a little _too_ demure, even for someone as introverted as Liara. However, she had chosen to replace it with a floor-length dress with a high neck and long, full-length gloves which, much to Ashley's amusement, wound up covering even MORE skin than usual. Still, the shimmering, silvery material – with its dark blue accents – played well against her pale blue skin, and hugged her curves in some rather surprising ways, offering an obvious if a bit restrained sense of sexuality. Modest, but sexy. Two words that Ashley thought that a certain _someone_ would agree described the good doctor quite well.

"Looking good, T'Soni!" Ashley grinned. "And you're right on time, we were just getting ready to head up."

"Thank you, Chief Williams," Liara said, self-consciously looking down at her outfit. "I hope that my attire is appropriate for the evening. You had mentioned that I should wear something 'scandalous,' but I am afraid my options were somewhat limited."

Kaidan shot an unamused look toward Ashley, who simply smiled and shrugged slightly. "Don't worry about it, Liara, you look fine," he said in a conciliatory voice. "Shall we head up to the bridge?"

"Yeah, Ashley said, as they began to make their way down the hallway. "Vakarian should already be upstairs, and—"

"Hang on, _Garrus_ got ready before you?" Kaidan stopped her, smirking. "What was all that about 'setting records,' Ash?"

"_Human _records, LT! He's a _turian_, and a _guy_ to boot! He doesn't have to deal with hair or any…" she trailed off as she caught sight of Tali disappearing around the corner. She gasped, eyes widening as a wicked grin crept across her face. "Hold tight! I'll be right back!" she said before dashing off after the quarian.

Liara watched as Ashley disappeared around the corner, leaving her standing alone with Kaidan. She turned her head towards the Lieutenant, who averted his gaze, slowly shifting his weight back and forth on his feet. After having lived with humans for several weeks, Liara had at last begun to be able to discern their body language, and she could see that Kaidan was uncomfortable. The ship was even quieter than usual, missing most of the subtle noises that having a full complement of crew on-board would provide. She understood that humans tended to dislike silence, though perhaps that was more silence between two people rather than general quietness of one's surroundings. Having worked for several decades on her own, she was used to silence, to not having to speak, or at least not having anyone to speak to. At the present, though, she felt a strange sense of tension between her and the Lieutenant, and she briefly wondered whether her own expressions of interest in their Commander had somehow butted up against some unspoken feelings that Kaidan had. Despite her comfort in the quiet, she felt compelled to break the silence.

"Lieutenant," she began.

"Hm?"

"Have you been to this club that we will be going to tonight? I believe it is called—"

"_Apex_, yeah," he responded with a nod. "Ah… no, I haven't been off-ship since we docked. Ash found out about it while we were getting ready to land."

And just like that, the conversation was over, and the quiet returned. She wasn't sure why she thought such a simple question would result in conversation. Unsure how to proceed, she traced her fingertips along her thigh, hoping that the sensation of the material against her skin would provide a sufficient distraction. It didn't help much.

If the Lieutenant did in fact harbor feelings for Shepard, he hadn't mentioned them, either to her or to the Commander, so speaking about that directly felt a bit presumptuous. On the other hand, the silence was beginning to bother even her. She had to say _something_.

"Do you know who will be joining us tonight?"

Kaidan crossed his arms. "Well, there's you, me and Ash, then Garrus," he turned his eyes down the hallway toward where Ashley had gone. "And if I know Ash, any minute she'll be dragging Tali along, whether she like it or not. I also think I heard she managed to convince _Wrex_ to come out, too."

"Will Shepard be…" she blurted out before she could properly think. She tightened her throat, desperately wishing she could somehow pull the words back into her mouth before they reached his ears.

"I, ah…" he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Liara, hesitating. "I don't know. Ash said that the last time they talked, it sounded like she hadn't decided yet, but was leaning towards not…"

_Oh well done, Liara_, she scolded herself. _You've managed to fail quite spectacularly at avoiding a potentially sensitive subject_._ Your mother would be SO proud…_

Liara nodded, looking dejectedly at her feet, feeling both the regret for her words and more than a twinge of disappointment about hearing that Shepard would not be joining them. "I see."

"Yeah…" Kaidan quietly responded, bringing a hand to his face and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingertips. "Yeah…"

* * *

Hurrying along the winding path towards the elevator which would take her towards the engineering bay, Tali did her best to pretend that she couldn't hear her name being called, that Ashley wasn't chasing her down in those high-heeled boots that she had seen human women sometimes wear. She hastily shifted the container of spare parts that she was carrying to her hip and pressed the controls to call the elevator.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on," she quietly whispered to herself, quickly mashing her palm against the controls.

"Tali!" Ashley came rushing towards her, heels clicking loudly against the metal floor. Her eyes were wide and her lips were pulled back in a smile as she pushed her way around to face Tali. "Tali, you have to come out with us!"

"I don't know…" Tali said, shaking her head, trying to avoid looking at Ashley. "I—"

"Oh come on, I've never seen a drunk quarian before!" Ashley cut her off.

"I think I'd rather—"

"Quarians can get drunk, right?"

"Well… yes… but I don't think—"

"Eh, you won't have to think, that's what I'm here for!"

"But I—"

"Do you have a change of clothes?" Ashley stepped back and looked Tali over.

"What's wrong with my… This is my enviro-suit, I cannot cha—"

"Hm, you know what?" Ashley said, waving off the thought. "You won't even need to change. Just wiggle those hips a little and I'm sure plenty of guys will—"

Tali's eyes went wide. "What?" She looked down at her body. "My hips—"

"Come on, throw out that junk and meet us on the bridge in five." Ashley maneuvered around Tali and patted her on the shoulder.

"This isn't junk," Tali balked, looking at the box of parts. "These can still be—"

Ashley, not listening, called out over her shoulder with a little wave. "Five minutes, Tali!"

Tali dejectedly let her shoulders slump. As the clop-clop of Ashley's high heels faded away, the elevator doors finally slid open.

"Thanks a lot," she grumbled as she stepped inside. She made sure to slap the controls extra hard in retaliation.

* * *

Jeff "Joker" Moreau slouched in the pilot's seat at the head of the _Normandy_, absent-mindedly dragging a finger along the short growth of hair on his bearded chin that rested in his hand. He watched with glazed-over eyes the orange lines of text scroll by on one of the several holo-consoles arranged before him. He drummed his fingers on the armrest until a green light blinked happily at him, indicating that the diagnostic program had completed successfully, and no issues had been found.

_Whoop dee-doo_, he thought to himself with a sigh. That program was one of at least a dozen more that he'd have to run tonight. Then he'd have to go through the results of each one and file an associated report, send them off to the Commander for review, and _THEN_… and then he'd get to start on the next batch. He flicked the results toward the bottom of the console, adding it to the growing pile of mindless busywork that would likely keep him in that seat for the rest of the night when he damn well could be going out with the rest of the ground crew.

"I can't believe you guys are making me stay on the ship tonight…" he complained as he angrily adjusted the black ballcap on his head. "We're not even flying, what are you gonna need a pilot for, anyway?" He spun his seat around to face Garrus Vakarian.

The turian, leaning against the bulkhead nearest the airlock, nonchalantly turned his head towards the frustrated pilot and offered a shrug. "You're the one who wanted to draw straws…"

"Yeah," Joker nodded, "when I thought I'd _win_! I still say you guys rigged it, somehow…"

Garrus' mandibles pulled back in a chitinous turian grin as he chuckled at Joker's frustration

"You know how long it's been since I've had a decent drink?" Joker continued as he stared out the viewport. He cupped his hands before him, looking at them longingly. "Or been able to rub my face in a decent pair of—"

"Exactly what kind of club do you think they're going to, Joker?" came a response floating from the hallway behind him. Garrus and Joker both turned to see their Alice sauntering towards them. She grinned a lopsided grin and brought up a hand to brush her dark red hair back behind her ear.

"Well, obviously I don't _know_, Commander… But I'm sure there's a better chance of _this_," he cupped his hands in front of him again, "happening out _there_," he pointed out the viewport, "rather than in _here_," he finished, gesturing at the consoles behind him, blinking as they eagerly awaited the start of next diagnostic program.

Alice smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "Well, unless you can convince Garrus to draw straws again…" she said, jerking her head at the turian beside her.

Garrus smiled as he shook his head and held his hands up defensively. "I think I've pressed my luck far enough for one night."

Alice shrugged. "Then I guess you and I have got a date with data tonight," she brought up the datapad she'd been holding and gave it a waggle.

"Fine…" Joker sulked, turning back to his terminal.

Garrus turned his head in her direction. "Still planning on staying back tonight, Shepard?"

"Yeah…" she said, growing somewhat tired of hearing the question. "You guys go and have your fun. You need it."

"Are you sure? You probably have _at least_ two more hours before Lieutenant Alenko and his hair are ready. Should give you plenty of time to make yourself presentable."

Alice's smirk widened once more. "What, standard-issue Alliance uniforms aren't in fashion anymore?" she joked, striking a pose.

"Well," he said, looking her over. "I'm no expert on human attire, but…"

"Aww, you're not dressed!" Ashley moaned as she caught sight of Alice.

Garrus chuckled. "Apparently they're not."

Alice turned to behold the transformed Gunnery Chief in her 'going out' attire. Hair down, skirt up, she'd gotten so used to seeing Ashley in her hardsuit or her casual fatigues that the woman was almost unrecognizable. Close behind her was Kaidan, hair – of course – perfectly coiffed, looking every bit like the quintessential handsome Alliance officer on a night out. Next to him was Liara who, though nearly covered from head to toe, managed to exude a certain… something which caused her face to suddenly feel very warm.

"Still haven't changed your mind about coming?" Ashley asked, raising her eyebrows hopefully.

Alice brushed the question away with a gesture. "I'm sure the last thing you guys need on your first night out in weeks is your C-O hanging around while you get blitzed."

"We always enjoy your company, Shepard," Liara commented warmly. "And tonight is _your_ first night out in weeks, as well."

"See?" Ashley exclaimed, giving Alice a devious look. "_T'Soni_ thinks you should join us!"

Alice shook her head and cast a wistful look in Liara's direction, letting out a small sigh as she did so. "I… ah… I really should stay with the ship tonight," she apologized.

"Fine…" Ashley moaned, frowning. Liara lowered her gaze, looking disappointed.

"Five minutes, as requested," Tali said, letting out an audible sigh as she walked up behind the group. Wrex came lumbering in close behind her.

"Wow," Alice said, clearly impressed. "Tali _and_ Wrex? How'd Ash convince you two into going out with them?"

Wrex shrugged. "Ryncol."

Tali shook her head. "Force."

Alice grinned at her motley crew. The gathering just before going out was one of the times she remembered most fondly during her 'wilder' days. Everyone would be dressed to kill, anticipation would be high, and all thoughts about the day before and the day after would be forgotten starting at that moment.

"Alright!" Ashley said, clapping her hands together. "Before we go, I'm taking bets on who's gonna be the bigger lightweight, T'Soni or Tali?"

Kaidan shot Ashley another withering look. "Alright… Let's just move out," he said, shooing the crew toward the airlock.

As everyone shuffled out, Liara glanced over her shoulder and, with a small smile, waved goodbye to Alice. Alice returned the smile and waved back.

"Ash, hold up!" Joker called out. "Gimme 20 creds on Liara being the first one under the table…"

"You got it, flyboy!" Ashley said, winking.

Shepard rolled her eyes and looked toward Garrus. "Make sure they don't get into too much trouble."

Garrus smiled and offered a little salute. "Aye aye, Commander."

"Remember," Ashley said as she backed out of the airlock and onto the station platform. "If you change your mind, we'll be at club _Apex_!_"_

"Got it!" Alice nodded with a half-grin as the airlock doors hissed shut, leaving her standing alone on the bridge, trying to focus her mind on the evening of busywork that lay before her and _not_ on the fun that her crew was bound to be having. Joker's voice interrupted her meandering thoughts.

"So, Commander…"

She turned to face her pilot, still leaning out of his seat toward the recently departed crew, and smiled. Of course, she wasn't alone tonight. A skeleton crew was still stuck behind with her, and Joker was always good to have around to keep spirits up.

"Who's your money on?" Joker asked. "Liara may have a slight height and weight advantage, but I dunno… I'm thinking Tali might have a bit of a wild side to her that we haven't seen yet."

Alice's smile disappeared and she stared blankly at him for a moment, then turned on her heel and made her way to the back of the ship.

"Fine, don't wanna discuss strategy. I get it…" Joker said to the now-empty bridge.

* * *

_Two Hours Later…_

Alone in her chambers, Alice quietly sat at her private console, scanning yet another report through half-open eyelids. Finished with the document, she paused and glanced around the large, empty room. Despite the frequent twinges of guilt at having such spacious quarters when the rest of the crew had so little in the way of personal space, most of the time she appreciated the extra room. Tonight, though, the emptiness seemed almost oppressive.

Turning back to her console, she blew out a long sigh, her 26th since she began counting. Being a Spectre was an honor, but damned if it didn't heap on the busywork. Forms and reports and requisitions and status updates…

_If Spectres get to work with more freedom than the rest of Citadel space, _she thought to herself, _how much crap do normal operatives have to sift through? _She sighed again.

_27!_

Straightening in her chair, she mentally kicked herself for having started counting sighs in the first place.

_Come on, Alice. This is just another part of what you signed up for_, she tried to rationalize. _More power and freedom also means more responsibility, and you're the first human Spectre, so you get heaps of all three. _ She shook herself awake and brought up the next report. She read the title:

_Effects of Exposure to Element Zero in Active-Duty Biotics in Regular, Semi-Regular, and Irregular Intervals Over the Course of Low-Gravity, High-Gravity, and Zero-Gravity Missions _

_Oh my god… _Alice thought as she rested her forehead in her hand.

_(Part 1 of 7)_

_OH MY GOD… _she groaned, hanging her head. She let out another sigh.

_28!_

That brought another inward groan for her continued counting. She raised her head and scanned the first few lines of the document, skipping every other word, then every two words, her eyes desperately trying to speed through it and move on to…

_On to... what? The next report? The next ten? _She rubbed her face with her hands, and gently slapped her cheeks, trying to wake herself up. Opting for a brief mental break, she rolled her head back and allowed her thoughts to drift to her crew.

_Wonder what they're up to now,_ she thought. Alice imagined Ashley would be feeding an increasingly inebriated Tali drink after drink and then trying to get her to dance on a table or something else equally embarrassing, though Garrus or Kaidan would probably stop her before things went _too_ far with Tali. She chuckled, curious as to what a drunken quarian would look and sound like. The idea of dancing got her to thinking who the dancers would be among her crew. She knew that not everyone shared her love of being out on the dance floor, that it took a certain personality type to cut loose and shake your body while surrounded by a group of total strangers.

_Ashley? _She thought about how easily the gunnery chief had shed her military attire, throwing herself as fully in the night off just as she would have in any mission. _Yeah, I could definitely see her on the dance floor… _She leaned back in her chair, resting her head in her hands as she continued avoiding work at all costs.

_Kaidan? Hmm… I dunno… Kaidan could go either way. I doubt he'd ever CHOOSE to go out and dance, though. Maybe if a girl forced him, or something._ Alice smiled as she thought about Ashley, who had somehow become the instigator of the group in her mind, dragging a less-than-enthusiastic Lieutenant onto the dance floor.

_Tali?_ Alice pursed her lips. Somehow the idea of Tali shaking her backside on a dark dance floor, surrounded by dozens of anonymous faces as the music pulsed around her seemed to fit. Maybe it was the quarian's ability to adapt to a new environment so quickly, or the built-in sense of anonymity that wearing a full-body enviro-suit afforded.

_Or maybe Joker's right, and she is a party animal under that suit._ Alice smirked and shook her head at the thought.

_Garrus? Mm…_ She narrowed her eyes as she tried to think about what a turian would look like dancing. Even if he were to dance, with his broad shoulders and long, slender limbs, Alice found it hard to believe he'd be terribly graceful. _ That would be a sight, though._ Alice chuckled.

_Wrex?_ Alice laughed aloud, thinking of the large, surly krogan doing something so obviously carefree and without purpose… _THAT would be a sight._ She closed her eyes and imagined Wrex, huge, scarred face turned up in a scowl, bopping to the beat of the music.

_Liara…_ Alice opened her eyes. She had seen asari dance before at numerous clubs and events. It had always been a sight to behold, so fluid and graceful, like they were born to do it, like music was invented just so that they could dance. Alice wondered for a moment if the seemingly shy, bookish Liara had ever found herself on a dance floor. Alice closed her eyes again and tried to envision the bashful doctor dancing.

_She stands on the dimly-lit dance floor, nervously eyeing the other dancers lost in their reverie. The music is slow, bass-heavy, with a simple, hypnotic, sensual melody. She closes her eyes and lowers her head, feeling the beat thump in her chest. Feeling it as if it were her own pulse. Soon, her hips find the rhythm, she swings them slowly. Back and forth. Back and forth. Inch by inch, the movement radiates outward from her core. Her legs follow the example of her hips, her feet begin making small steps, bringing her entire body into motion. Her arms flow with the music, weaving their way around her body, leaving invisible streams of lights in their wake. Her eyes open slightly, seeming to glow of their own power in the low light. She blinks and her eyes fall on me. She extends a blue hand forward, beckoning me towards her. Her lips part… ever so slightly…_

Alice gasped. She bolted up in her chair, eyes suddenly wide open. Her heart pounded in her chest, echoing the music she had been imagining. She struggled to catch her breath.

_Okay, Alice, get a hold of yourself_, she thought, rapidly shaking her head to clear her mind. She covered her face with her hands.

_You've dealt with this before, plenty of times._

_You've had subordinates develop crushes on you._

_You've even had your own fair share of crushes._

_And have, on occasion… felt a deeper connection with some of them._

_Like they understand you._

_Like they look past who you THINK you are and see the real you._

_And then you share an incredibly intimate mind meld with them…_ She hung her head and groaned.

_Oh God, Alice, what the hell are you doing…_ she thought, letting out a small sigh.

_29!_

"Ugh! Alright!" she exclaimed, slamming her console shut and standing up from her seat. "Time for a break!" She grabbed her now-empty coffee mug and headed for the mess.

* * *

Alice braced herself against the counter in the empty mess hall, leaning heavily on her arms. She stared at the empty coffee pot before her, silently cursing whoever had taken the lasts cup, and wondered whether she should bother making another.

_Doesn't matter. There's probably not enough caffeine in the Traverse to get you through the rest of the night…_ she thought to herself. _And it sure as hell won't help with the daydreams…_ She shook her head and breathed a short sigh.

_30!_

She growled and shook her fists in compounded frustration.

"Commander," came a soft voice. "Is everything alright?"

She glanced over her shoulder to see Dr. Chakwas, her Chief Medical Officer. Her head was cocked to the side, a look of concern on her face. The woman's short gray hair, normally left to hang loose and frame her soft, weathered features, had been casually pinned back, and the gloves of her grey and white medical tunic had been removed, sleeves rolled up, indicating that she was _not_ expecting neither excitement nor the need for formality that night. Alice turned to face the older woman and leaned back against the counter.

"Hey Doc. Just staring down the barrel of a night full of reports and wondering if I brought big enough ordinance," she said, indicating her mug.

"Ah, yes. I see," nodded Dr. Chakwas. "Well I'd offer you something from my personal reserves, but I'm afraid that it might get us _both _court-martialed. And something tells me that a rusty old doctor is more easily replaceable than the first Human Spectre," she joked, bringing a smile to Shepard's face. "To be quite honest, Commander, I'm surprised you're still here."

Alice shrugged. "I've faced worse things than maintenance reports and biotics briefings before."

"I meant that I expected that you would join the rest of the crew on the town tonight."

Alice began a response, but simply shrugged again. "I'm sure having their Commanding Officer tag along isn't most people's idea of 'fun'."

"So I've heard you say before." Dr. Chakwas said, pursing her lips. "Commander, may I speak freely?"

"Of course, doctor."

She paused pondering her next words. "I speak with all due respect, Commander, but I know that you are still somewhat new to a position of authority, and given your relative inexperience, you may believe that you must _uphold_ this 'Commander' role – where you maintain a distance between yourself and your crew – at all times."

"Somehow I doubt that Captain Anderson ever went out drinking and dancing with his crew," Alice interjected, raising an eyebrow at her own cleverness.

Dr. Chakwas bemusedly pursed her lips. "Not to my knowledge. But as I understand it he also never spent much time getting to know his crew personally, he never had aliens on his ship, and – I say this fully respecting the man's elite reputation – he was never a Spectre."

Alice began to speak, but Dr. Chakwas took a sharp intake of breath and placed her hands together, as though begging to be allowed to continue. "I've served under a number of commanding officers in my time, and the only constant between every one of them was how differently they approached their role. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses, and their own way of garnering loyalty and respect from their crew.

"You, for example have managed to form personal connections with nearly everyone on this ship. It might seem unorthodox to some, but I believe that is why you were chosen for this rather unorthodox mission. The ground crew in particular has united behind you in a way I've never seen, and that sort of loyalty will likely be needed for whatever is on the horizon. And their loyalty to you has been earned because you have been _you_, not some nebulous concept of what a 'Commander' should be."

Alice lowered her eyes. The thought of maintaining her leadership role all day every day had occurred to her. It was more than a thought, it was a _desire._ The authority she'd been given was something that she was determined to not waste. It was important to her; the position gave her the ability to never let a tragedy like Akuze happen again. Her discomfort with the role was immediate, the camaraderie she experienced as "one of the crew" was a difficult thing to sacrifice. She hadn't realized that she hadn't sacrificed it at all, that without knowing it, she had sought out and made those connections with her crew regardless: Talking technology with Tali; Discussing Ashley's family; Learning about Kaidan's past as one of the first human biotics; Delving into Garrus' time at C-Sec; Even getting Wrex to open up to her. She chuckled at how oblivious she could be about some things.

"I think that – in this case – sacrificing one night of what _must_ be dreadfully dull paperwork to enjoy some time with those people who consider you, possibly, to be more than just their Commander might just be worth it," Dr. Chakwas concluded.

Alice opened her mouth to speak, but stopped.

_Still planning on staying back tonight, Shepard?_

_Still haven't changed your mind about coming?_

_We always enjoy your company, Shepard._

Alice glanced at her quarters, weighing those words.

"It's not too late, you know," Dr. Chakwas said, encouragingly.

She turned back to face the doctor. "Those reports will still be there when I get back…" she reasoned.

"Well _I _certainly won't be doing them for you!" Dr. Chakwas grinned.

Alice leaned forwardchewing her lower lip as she wrestled with the idea.

"Go!" Dr. Chakwas commanded. "And have fun, for once! I believe you've certainly earned it!"

"Thanks, doc," Alice smiled gave in and trotted off to her quarters.

Dr. Chakwas smiled as Alice disappeared into her chambers, letting out a reflective sigh.

* * *

When she got back to her quarters, Alice stripped off her uniform and knelt down to dig through her gear, hoping that she still had something that would be considered passable as "going-out" wear. Her early years in the Alliance had seen her playing just as hard as she worked. But after three years on a steady diet of equal parts training, bars, and strictly-casual sex, she had decided to get serious and joined the Alliance's Special Forces division. That meant that the bars and the sex had to go. The former proved difficult to give up. She missed the camaraderie; the rituals of going out, of seeing people let their hair down and shedding their responsibilities for a few hours. She missed how un-military and free everybody was on those nights.

The sex, by contrast, was far easier to let go of. Not that she didn't miss the sex – she enjoyed the sex. Those first few months of special forces training were filled with many restless nights and long private showers in an attempt to make up for her newfound celibacy. The sex had just never been fulfilling on anything other than a physical level. The men she had found were very much "military", and while it translated to some fairly vigorous intercourse, it was still "standard-issue," predictable, rigid, uninspired. Alice made it a point to never take things further than one or two nights with any of them. And the women… there hadn't been any women since before she joined the Alliance. Not after Nikki – her first love, her first kiss, her first _everything_ – had left her with a split lip, a bruised ego, and a broken heart. After that, Alice had found herself gun-shy around women, preferring to take the 'easier' route with the men.

Alice sat back on her haunches and surveyed the findings on her bed. "So I guess you're it." On her sheets lay the one outfit which had survived station transfer after station transfer. Black leather pants, which she remembered as being _very_ form-fitting, highlighting her well-muscled legs and backside (which she had always taken a fair bit of pride in), a crimson top, cut to leave _very_ little to the imagination, and a pair of black high-heeled shoes.

"But this sure as hell won't cut it," referring to her white, nondescript, standard-issue Alliance naval undergarments, designed more to conceal and protect rather than reveal and enhance. "We're gonna need…" she mumbled as she rummaged through her belongings, "this!" She pulled out a decidedly non-military bra, all black lace and unapologetic sex-appeal.

Shoving the remainder of her gear back where she found it, she quickly peeled off the last remaining vestiges of her military attire. Piece by piece, she shimmied into her newly rediscovered outfit, taking a moment to marvel that everything still fit.

_That's Alliance physical training, for you,_ she thought to herself. Then she turned towards the mirror to view the final results, and her breath caught in her throat.

"Well," she said, more than a little shocked. "At least we know how you were able to get laid so easily back in the day." The pants, true to memory, looked as though they had been crafted using her butt as a guide, following the contours of her thighs like a second skin. But the top surprised her the most. She remembered it being risqué, but coupled with her sex-bra, it seemed as though her breasts were being presented as an offering to some lecherous deity.

"Maybe no-one will notice," she reasoned.

_Right, you walk around with those things all day long and they're still the first things YOU noticed…_ She continued looking at herself in the mirror, turning this way and that. She smiled, generally pleased with what she saw.

_Bet none of them are gonna expect to see you in something like this! Wonder how Liara will…_ she began to think, then caught herself.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "We don't dress for others, we dress for ourselves," she said, repeating what she had learned from her past club-going days.

_Still…_ A wry smile crossed her lips.

She moved closer to the mirror and examined her face. The small amount of eye-shadow she regularly wore was the only bit of femininity that she generally allowed herself on a regular basis. Any more make-up and the military-types seemed to take her less seriously. Any less and she felt as though she just wasn't trying. She turned her head and brought her fingers to her face, gently tracing some of the more noticeable scars. They had never bothered her, she'd earned every one. Each was a simple reminder of a moment in life that had left its mark. She ran her tongue over the thin scar that ran from her top lip down to her chin.

_Some moments leave more marks than others…_ she thought. She raised her arms over her head and pulled her crimson hair back in a twist. Her eyes widened as she saw that doing so caused her already aggressive cleavage to threaten to go supernova.

_Whoah… must remember not to do that too often,_ she thought to herself. She finished pinning her hair back and was pleased with the results, but she still felt incomplete. Snapping her fingers, she turned to her bathroom bag. After a quick search, she produced the last tube of lipstick she had ever purchased. She moved in close to the mirror and applied a thin layer to her lips. She stepped back to observe the results, and noticed the image of a woman she long thought she'd left behind. An impish grin slowly made its way across Alice's face.

"Well hello, again, Ali-cat. Fancy seeing you here." She rarely ever used that moniker anymore, usually preferring to leave it in the past when she was still a kid running around the streets in Los Angeles. Somehow, though, with the hair, the eyes, the lips, the outfit… It just seemed to fit with the name. She capped the lipstick and tossed it onto her bed, smirking at the figure in the mirror. She gave a start, recalling a missing piece to the ensemble, and turned back to her gear bag once more. After several moments of rummaging, she gasped in surprise, marveling that she had managed to find it. She pulled forth a small, coiled black band, her choker, the last piece that would truly complete the outfit. She rose to her feet and returned to the mirror, letting the choker unfurl itself as she went. She brought it up to her neck and fastened it, gently adjusting the material to the right fit. Her fingertips lingered on the edge of the fabric, softly brushing up against the skin of her neck. For her, the neck had always been such a strange, wonderful part of the body – so vulnerable, so sensitive, so powerful, so intimate, so sensual. The choker drew attention to the neck, making it a focal point of the outfit.

Somehow, that little strip of material made it all so… blatant, it all seemed so _much _– the hair, the eyes, the lips, the neck… She worriedly chewed her lip, wondering for a brief moment if all of it… if any of it… if it was _okay_ to for her be _Ali-cat_, even if it were just for tonight. Her eyes scanned the figure looking back at her for a moment.

_Just for tonight_, she thought to herself. Liara's words…

_Tonight is your night..._ She nodded at her reflection.

_Yeah… _A smile slowly grew as she accepted the idea. _It's just one night. Why not? _Nodding again, she turned on the balls of her feet and, with a final glance in the mirror to admire her backside, she stepped out of the cabin.

As Alice climbed the last few steps leading to the CIC, she was struck with another twinge of self-consciousness. She thought about grabbing a coat to cover up, or pretending to work on her omni-tool as she walked to block the 'view'. She shook her head at both ideas.

_Come on, Alice. They know you're a woman._ She pressed the sensor to open the door, and stepped inside. The CIC was more quiet than usual, and the scant few members of the skeleton crew seemed to be able to focus on their work far more easily than she had – not a single head turned to her as she entered. She made her way around the galaxy map towards the bridge, glancing this way and that, seeing nothing but empty seats and busy crewmates.

_See? _ She breathed a sigh of relief. _And you were worried… _Despite their apparent lack of interest, the noise her heels were making on the metal floors seemed to echo unnaturally throughout the entire ship. She quickened her pace as she headed toward the bridge.

"Joker," she called out on her approach, "I'm gonna head out and join the rest of the crew. You've got the bridge. If Saren destroys the galaxy while I'm out, well… Tell the Council I'm sorry."

"You gonna leave me here all alone?" Joker whined, spinning his chair around to face Alice. "What about our d-uhh…" he trailed off, finally catching sight of Alice.

_So much for not being noticed, _she thought to herself.

"What, our 'date with data'? Eh…" She shrugged. "Someone made me a better offer."

Joker tried to speak, his mouth opening and closing mutely, giving him the strange appearance of a bearded fish wearing a hat.

Unable to hold back a small smile at his newfound speechlessness, she allowed him a few moments to pick his jaw up off the floor.

"Joker…"

"Uhh…" he finally managed after several moments of silent ogling.

Fun as it was, watching her pilot making a fool of himself, she had business elsewhere. "Joker!" she barked out. "Eyes up here!" she pointed towards her face.

"Hm?" Joker said, finally making eye contact. "Uh, right, sir… ma'am. Date with… galaxy and uh…" his eyes resumed their wandering. "and Saren's… bridges…"

_Yeah… _she thought, her grin returning. _I've still got it._

"Keep up the good work, Lieutenant!" she called behind her as she stepped out of the airlock.

Once the airlock doors slid closed, Joker blinked several times, the spell broken. He looked around the bridge, exasperated, at the rest of the crew busy at their stations.

"And _nobody_ else saw that?"


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't difficult for Alice to find club _Apex._ The rest of the city had mostly withdrawn for the evening. Merchant's holo-lamps were all dimmed, and aside from a few meandering pedestrians and the occasional police detail, the streets were empty. But _Apex_ remained alive, glowing with music and energy, a focal point in the otherwise muted cityscape, visible for miles. As she drew closer, she noticed a line of people stretching around the block. Groaning, she scanned the crowd, but couldn't see any of her crew.

_Must be inside already_. She let out a sigh and glanced at the line where it turned and disappeared behind the building. _Great… it could take hours to get in at this point_, she thought worriedly. She shifted her gaze to the front of the line, where a tall, stern-looking turian bouncer stood, guarding the entrance. She let her mind drift back to all the times at the academy when she was faced with this very scenario.

Sleazy joints might let you in if you flash some skin, or slip the bouncer some creds, but to Alice, _Apex _looked to be anything but sleazy. Places like this built their reputation on their exclusivity, for not letting people in just because they waited in line or dropped the right name. They chose their patrons carefully, and it wasn't who you knew or what you wore that mattered, it was about attitude. Every movement, every glance, every stride that you took could be the difference between getting in or spending an eternity in line. She narrowed her eyes, steeling her gaze at the entrance.

_Alright_, _let's see if this thing still works. _She took a deep breath and began to make her way towards the entrance.

She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, letting herself become the person she needed to be so she could do what needed to be done. She opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the entrance. It was not her destination, but an obstacle in her path, an annoyance that would soon be behind her. She confidently strode forward, ignoring everyone before her. No, not ignoring. She was simply oblivious to them. What were the people in line to her? Riff-raff, not fit to join her in _her_ club. The bouncer? A necessary precaution to keep out the riff-raff. It was only when she reached the foot of the steps leading to the entrance that she could even be bothered to glance at the bouncer. He, of course, was already examining her, head to toe, no doubt appreciating what he saw, she was certainly worth looking at, she was worth letting in. He reached behind him and tapped a sensor, allowing the main doors to slide open. She slowly climbed the steps, finally able to resume ignoring those around her. She could scarcely hear the cries that erupted from the poor fools in line as she crossed the threshold.

As the doors whooshed shut behind her, Alice let the act drop, giggling to herself at the silliness of the whole persona, endlessly pleased with herself for pulling it off so well.

_Guess it still works!_

Alice looked around the club, soaking in the atmosphere. The rhythmic music seemed to emanate from every corner of the cavernous room. The people on the main dance floor were oblivious to the universe around them, simply content to shake their bodies to the music. They were lit from below by a subtly changing glow seeping forth from beneath their feet. Thin shafts of light shot forth from the ceiling, weaving in and out and around the shifting forms of the dancers. Surrounding the dance floor, raised and removed from the pulsating crowd was a lounge area, littered with tables and comfortable-looking chairs and couches. Shapely waitresses, both asari and human, wove their way through the sea of patrons, refreshing drinks and clearing emptied containers, allowing the huddled groups of people to continue their conversations uninterrupted. On either side of the room, Alice saw floor-to-ceiling windows revealing dimly-lit patios overlooking a dark ocean, for those who preferred quieter, more intimate conversation. She closed her eyes and breathed it all in, the first ritual of a night out. She had missed this, all of it. The rituals, the dance floor, the people, the smells, the lights, the sound. Nearly ten years since she set foot in a place like this and the scene still fit her, like…

_Like an old pair of skin-tight leather pants_, she thought to herself with a grin, her hand mindlessly brushing her hip.

"Hey!" she heard someone cry out over the music. Alice opened her eyes and scanned the crowd, wondering if it had been directed at her. She finally saw Ashley waving at her, pushing her way through the throng of dancing bodies.

"You came!" she exclaimed as she wove her way around a dancing couple, her drink miraculously remaining un-spilled. She broke free of the crowd and her eyes widened as she caught full sight of Alice. "Whoah! You don't mess around, do you?" she laughed, her gaze moving over Alice. "I suddenly feel a bit under… good lord, Commander!" she gasped, gawking at Alice's cleavage, "do you need special training to carry those things?"

Alice smirked, embarrassed, though thoroughly enjoying the attention. "What do you think that N7 rank is about? There are top-secret facilities where they teach you the proper way to lift and separate," Alice joked. "I really can't go into too much detail, though."

Ashley laughed again, still looking Alice up and down in amazement and nodding approvingly. "I gotta say, I'm impressed! You should wear this stuff more often!"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Right… Can you see me briefing the Council in a getup like this?" she asked. "Or trying to give orders with my boobs half-hanging out?"

Ashley stood on her toes and mischievously peered down Alice's top. "I dunno… I'm sure there's one _particular _crew member who'd enjoy seeing you like this on a regular basis…" she jokingly mused.

Alice gave Ashley's arm a playful slug, and shook her head. "Watch yourself, chief," she said in mock seriousness, trying to hide her grin. She couldn't help but chuckle at the teasing. "Where's everybody else?" she asked.

"Alenko and Vakarian are out on the patio, and I think Wrex is up at the bar. Liara and Tali are holding our table. Come on!" She beckoned Alice to follow her as she made her way up the stairs into the lounge area. Alice stuck close behind, glancing around the club with a look of satisfaction on her face.

"Look who I found!" Ashley sing-songed as she approached one of the tables. There sat Liara, holding a half-empty drink in her hands, absent-mindedly observing the crowd. Next to her Tali, face-down on the table, was apparently fast asleep. Liara turned at the sound. Her face lit up as she caught sight of Alice.

"Oh!" Liara gasped, beaming. "Shepar…" her breath caught in her throat as her eyes drifted down to Alice's outfit. "Ah… Oh my! I… I've never seen you like this before… You… you're…" she said, breathlessly.

Alice smiled widely, her heart fluttering at Liara's speechlessness.

"Hey, T'Soni!" Ashley said, grinning. She snapped her fingers in front of Liara's face, "her eyes are about 12 inches north of there!"

Alice chuckled and smiled at Liara.

"I… I'm… I'm sorry!" Liara stammered. "It's… I'm just… you… ah… your… breasts are… very impressive…"

Alice and Ashley burst into laughter, causing Liara to blush furiously.

"No! I mean… Oh, Goddess… I'm sorry, I… I didn't mean… It's just that…" she sighed, touching a hand to her forehead. "I think that these drinks are going to my head…"

"Told ya," Ashley quietly grinned into Alice's ear.

Alice elbowed Ashley as she felt her face flush and her heart leap into her throat, but she couldn't help but laugh at Liara's bumbling attempts at being complimentary.

"And how many has _she_ had?" she asked Ashley, indicating the passed-out Tali.

Ashley just waved her hand, dismissing Alice's concern. "Just one. Looks like when quarians drink they skip past the fun, tipsy stage and head right into passed out." She turned her head at Tali with a look of mild disappointment on her face. "Guess I owe Joker some creds." Perking up, she clapped her hands together. "Alright, you have a seat, and I'll go get us another round!" Then she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Alice took a seat opposite Liara and smiled at the asari.

"Shepard," Liara stammered, "I am sorry if my comments offended you. I just… I wasn't… expecting…"

"Liara, relax" Alice said, instinctively reaching across the table to take Liara's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. Liara calmed visibly at the gesture. "I haven't worn this getup in years. It's just nice to know I can still get 'noticed'," she said, smiling warmly.

Liara looked up into Alice's eyes. "You are a very difficult woman to _not_ notice, Shepard, no matter what clothing you decide to wear."

Alice felt her heart give another leap, and suddenly became acutely aware at how blue Liara's eyes looked in the low light, how warm Liara's hand was as it gently grasping her own. For a moment it seemed as though the rest of the lights in the club had dimmed, leaving only the light coming from the asari's eyes. Alice inhaled sharply, yanking herself back to reality. She quickly gave Liara's hand another squeeze and let go. She turned to Tali, who was sitting between them.

"Tali? Are you alright?" she asked hesitantly, her concern for the quarian growing.

"Hello, Commander," came the unexpected response. "Yes, I'm fine. I just felt that this was the easiest way to get Chief Williams off of my back."

"Okay, good," Alice chuckled, patting Tali's helmet.

"And I must agree with Liara," Tali continued. "Your breasts are quite impressive in that outfit."

Alice burst out laughing at the comment. Liara, smiling with renewed embarrassment, buried her face in her hands.

"Here we go!" Ashley exclaimed as she pulled up to the table, expertly holding five shot glasses in her hands, each filled to the brim with some dimly glowing blue-green concoction.

"Are Kaidan and Garrus joining us?" asked Alice, counting the extra drinks.

"Nah," Ashley said. "Alenko's busy putting the moves on some floozy, and Garrus looks like he's embellishing on some of our exploits for that little asari waitress who keeps bringing him free drinks." She craned her neck towards the patio, scanning for her squadmates. Finally spotting them, she called out. "LT!"

Alice rose from her seat and followed Ashley's eyes outside.

"Hey, Alenko!" Ashley barked.

Kaidan – standing before a rather attractive blonde woman – turned around at the sound of his name, drawing Alice's attention to him. Ashley waved, pointing excitedly at her Commander. Kaidan smiled and raised his glass in salute.

Alice smiled and waved back. Her eyes drifted to the side and caught sight of Garrus, who, true to form, seemed deep in the middle of a boastful story with what looked to be a _very_ intrigued asari waitress. He looked up and caught Alice's eye, offering a grin and a little salute, which Alice returned.

"So who are the other two shots for?" Alice asked, retaking her seat.

"You, skipper," Ashley responded, pushing three of the glasses towards Alice. "You've got some catching up to do!" She grabbed one glass for herself and pushed another into Liara's hands. Raising her glass, she offered up a toast. "To the _Normandy_!"

"To the _Normandy_!" responded Alice and Liara, who tilted their heads back and emptied the contents of the glasses in one gulp. Ashley slammed her glass down on the table with a little gasp. Liara let out a cough and blinked away a few tears brought on by her shot. Hearing two quick slams after hers, she glanced at Alice as she was downing the third of her shots, which was brought down to the table with a resounding thud. Ashley stared at her Commander with a look of disbelief mixed with amazement.

Alice just sniffed. "Come on, Chief. You didn't think this was my first rodeo, did you?"

Ashley laughed out loud, clearly impressed.

"Next round's on me," Alice said with a sly grin, signaling a passing waitress.

* * *

_Several rounds later…_

"No way," exclaimed Ashley. She shook her head and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms before her in defiance.

"What do you mean, no way?" Alice asked, exasperated.

"Oh come on, Commander," Ashley said, raising an eyebrow in Alice's direction. "City life? Growing up in the—"

"'City Life'?" Alice balked. "Give me a break, Ash! I—"

"Growing up in the _same_ place your whole life, with the _same_ friends? No way that—"

"_Same_ place? It wasn't like I grew up in the 'burbs with a white picket fen—"

"I'm just saying… No way that was rougher than being a military brat…"

"Ash, I grew up on the _streets_, my friends consisted of my _gang… _I got…" Alice rose up from her seat, pulling apart her shirt and the top of her pants to reveal a four-inch scar near her hip. "I got _shanked_ just picking up groceries one day! It's not like—"

"Hey," Ashley barked, "I'd much rather run the risk of getting shanked from the front than get stabbed in the back…"

Alice dropped heavily back to her seat, sighing at the look of frustration on Ashley's face. It had become obvious that this was no longer a competition for her, just… venting. Airing a grievance which followed her everywhere she went.

"Every two years," Ashley shrugged, visibly calming as she did so, "dad would get a new assignment and we'd be off, leaving damn near everything and everyone I knew behind. I mean… after a while you get used to that. I did what I could to make friends quickly, but it's hard, you know? I mean... being…" Ashley hesitated.

"The daughter of a Williams?" Alice offered.

"Yeah…" Ashley nodded somberly, the hints of a snarl on her face. "I mean, it's not an ex—"

Liara, having silently watched the exchange, turned to Ashley. "I am not sure… what does your family's name…"

Ashley let out a long sigh. "Well…" she said hesitantly, her eyes dropping to her drink. "A little backstory in my life, T'Soni… My grandfather was," she cleared her throat, "_General_ Williams, who has the unfortunate distinction of being the only human to ever surrender to an alien force…"

Liara furrowed her brow. "Yes… I read about the battle after the Relay 314 incident. The turians bombarded Shanxi from orbit, which prevented the human forces on the ground from procuring supplies. Many humans died of starvation. Your grandfather's actions prevented needless suffering and death, for humans and turians alike."

"Yeah, well… like I said, people hold grudges, especially the Alliance brass. Dad never made it past serviceman third-class, and before the skipper here got me onto the _Normandy_, I never pulled anything but crap ground duty on backwater agro-colonies."

"You got yourself on the _Normandy, _Ash," Alice interjected. "You're a damn fine soldier, and any ship would be lucky to have you on board."

Ashley smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, ma'am. But I've put in my transfer requests before, and every last one of them was denied until you came about." For a long moment, she simply looked at Alice, a warm smile on her face. "It means a lot to me."

"Aww…" Alice smirked. "You getting a soft spot for me, Chief?"

Ashley straightened in her seat. "No, ma'am, just trying to express my appreciation. _Speaking_ of soft spots, though…" She grinned, turning to Liara. "So, T'Soni—"

Alice snapped a foot out under the table, driving it hard into Ashley's shin, who gasped in surprise.

"O-ow! uh… what uh… what was it like growing up asari? I mean we heard about being a military brat and a city slicker."

Liara hazily thought for a moment. "Well…" she began.

"Wait, how old are you, anyway," Ashley interrupted. "26? 27?"

"I will be one-hundred and seven in a few months," Liara responded.

"A hundred and… seven… what? _Years?" _Ashley asked in shock. "Holy hell, T'Soni! Hope I look that good when I'm pushing the century mark…"

"Asari can live for a thousand years, Ash," Alice said matter-of-factly. "A hundred isn't that old."

Ashley raised an eyebrow in Alice's direction. "Doing some _research_ in our spare time, are we, skipper?" she asked with a smirk. Alice responded by delivering another swift kick to her shin under the table.

"Shepard is right, I am barely considered to be an adult by asari standards. Most asari daughters do not leave their home until they are at least sixty," Liara added.

"So what _was_ your childhood like, Liara?" Alice asked before Ashley could make any more remarks. Alice knew what life was like for Liara growing up. At least felt she like she knew. She wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. During the times that they joined minds, she had _experienced_ – for lack of a better term – what it was like to be Liara, reliving memories that she'd never had before, able to feel the emotions of the event in brief but potent flashes. She had shared Liara's anxiety when she gave her dissertation on the Protheans at the University of Serrice. Liara, in turn, was able to experience Alice's sense of pride as she signed her name upon joining up with the Alliance on Earth. It had been an incredible experience; intimate, meaningful, and unnerving all at the same time.

"My mother, Benezia, was… is… a powerful and influential matriarch," Liara began. "She did well to provide me with everything that I required when I was younger. She made sure that I was taught the finer points of art, literature, philosophy, and science. From an early age she also saw to it that I was trained to use my biotics, as well as the basic use of various weapons."

"Hm," Ashley mused, "having a mom that powerful must have been nice."

"It's a double-edged sword, Ash," Alice pointed out.

"Indeed," Liara agreed. "There were certain… expectations of the daughter of one so prominent in asari society."

"What about your dad?" Ashley inquired.

"We never met, and Benezia never spoke much of her partner. All I know is that she was another asari," Liara responded.

"_She_?" Ashley got a confused look on her face. "Your dad? Wait… how does that…"

"Asari can mate with any member of another sapient species, male or female," Alice interjected. "You gonna let her finish, or do you want the full codex entry on the asari?"

"I don't know, skipper," Ashley said sarcastically. "Been reading up on asari mating habits lately? Got that codex entry memorized for any pa—" she stumbled as Alice drove her foot into her leg once again. "—rticular _reason_?" The Chief's smirk widened.

"Go on, Liara," Alice beckoned, covering her own growing smile with her free hand.

Liara continued, oblivious to the exchange. "Yes, asari can reproduce with any race, male or female. Though it is less common these days, occasionally two asari still bear a child together. The practice is generally frowned upon, though. In the asari culture, nothing is seen as having been _gained_ from the joining of two asari. It is rather silly to think of it that way, though, since the daughter does not contain any of the genetic traits of the father species. Despite this, the daughters of two asari are considered to be 'pureblood,' which is a rather derogatory term rarely spoken in polite company."

"Hmm… So did you catch a lot of flak for being the daughter of two asari?" Ashley inquired.

Liara thought for a moment. "It is possible that others' opinions of me were influenced by that knowledge, but I was rarely ever confronted with it directly. I used to wonder if my work on the Protheans would have been more recognized had my father not been asari, but I now believe it may have more to do with my age than anything else."

"So… You never met your dad… or… your other mom…" Ashley asked, struggling with the concept. "but you know that she was another asari, which makes you a…" she stopped, reconsidering her choice of words. "Which means that other asari think less of you."

Liara shrugged noncommittally.

"You're young, so you never get any recognition for your work, which sucks 'cause of the already high expectations people have of you because of who your mom is… And now, she's joined up with Saren, and together they're threatening to destroy galactic civilization as we know it."

"Yes," Liara said, nodding slowly.

Ashley blew out a short whistle, shaking her head. "Well, I think we have a new winner for suck childhoods. Dr. Liara T'Soni!" she said, raising her glass to Liara in a mock toast. Alice chuckled and shook her head, but raised her glass just the same.

Ashley downed the remaining contents of her glass. "Alright, enough with this mopey junk. Let's get out on that dance floor and shake our asses," she said with a wink.

"Sounds like a plan," Alice said, slapping the table. She quickly finished her drink and rose to her feet.

Liara glanced up at the two women looking at her expectantly. "I… I don't… I mean, I don't think I can… Well, perhaps I _can_… but I don't think…" she stammered.

"What, dance? Ooooh, no…" Ashley said, waggling her finger. "You're asari. I've seen your kind on every dance floor of damn near every club I've ever been in. I've seen how they move, and you don't get to use that excuse! Now, you gonna finish that drink, or just wave it around all night?"

Liara looked down in consternation at the drink that she had been holding aloft for the past twenty minutes and let out a short sigh.

"Liara, you don't have to finish that if you don't want to, but if I'm going out there to embarrass myself, so are you!" Alice said with a coy grin.

Liara smiled at Alice and slowly rose to her feet. She glanced once more with determination at her drink, then, taking a breath to steel herself, downed its contents in one gulp. She slammed the empty glass down on the table and blinked several times to steady herself. "Okay, I am ready," she nodded.

"Atta girl!" Ashley exclaimed, clapping Liara on the back. "You gonna be okay here on your own, Tali?" she said, peering at Tali's still apparently-sleeping form.

"Yes," Tali responded.

"Ah-ha! I _knew_ it!" Ashley pointed her finger accusingly at Tali.

Tali let out a sigh and righted herself, looking at Ashley. "Do I have to dance as well?"

Ashley waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, you're off the hook for that. But you get to watch our table and when we come back you ARE having another drink with us!"

"Fine…" Tali groaned. Ashley turned and headed for the dance floor. Alice offered a sympathetic smile and gave Tali's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"You sure you don't want to join us, Tali? We can always find another table later," Alice asked.

Tali looked up to Alice, seemingly surprised. "No, thank you… I don't exactly have the grace of an asari…" she said, looking away bashfully and wringing her hands.

"Who does?" Alice asked with a shrug and a grin.

Tali shook her head. "Thank you, Shepard. But I'll pass. I'm not much for 'partying' anyway."

"Hm, Joker'll be disappointed to hear that…" Alice said under her breath.

"What?" Tali asked.

"Nothing!" Alice responded with a smile. She turned to Liara, who although standing, had yet to move, gazing out at the swarm of bodies on the dance floor.

"You up for this?" Alice asked, placing her hand on Liara's shoulder.

Liara turned at the contact. "I just… there are so many people…"

"Liara…" Alice said, shaking her head. "Don't worry about them. They're all doing their own thing. Just get out there and let go."

"Let go?"

"Yeah," Alice nodded. "Let go. Just feel the music, close your eyes and… do whatever feels right," she shrugged. "That's what dancing's all about."

"Just feel the music…" Liara looked back out over the dance floor, weighing Alice's words. Finally, she nodded. "Okay." She turned to Alice and offered a warm smile. "Lead the way."

* * *

Alice stepped down onto the dance floor and began to push her way through the crowd to follow Ashley. A small smile made its way across her face as she looked around at the anonymous faces lost in the music. An old, familiar feeling began to well up inside of her. For Alice, being on the dance floor was never about the dancing. She certainly enjoyed the dancing. She enjoyed the music and feeling the crowd move around her, and even the prospect that her gyrations could land a warm body in her bed for the night. But as she moved deeper into the crowd, Alice closed her eyes and inhaled the atmosphere, remembering that it was more than that. It was this, this setting, this ritual of dance, where she could be free and without care, where she could lose herself, where she could let go. This was what she sought out. With everything that was going on in the galaxy - Spectres and Geth and Reapers and politics and war and fear - she had forgotten the last time when she was able to simply _be_, when she just dropped everything and disappeared, becoming one of the anonymous faces in the crowd. Was it even possible for her to do so anymore? Was it reasonable for her, as a Commander, as a Spectre, with all of her responsibilities to the Alliance and the Council and the galaxy at large, to have something, just one thing, just for herself? Then she heard Liara's voice in her head.

_Tonight is your night…_

_Just for tonight…_ She breathed deeply. _Why not?_ She could forget the rest universe for a night, she decided. It would still be there tomorrow.

_Just feel the music…_

She began to shake her hips with the beat, slowly rocking her body back and forth. The movements grew, inch by inch, until her entire body was working in harmony with the rhythm of the music. Her arms rose above her head, and she smiled when she realized she no longer felt a drop of self-consciousness for how her outfit would behave at the movement. The music seeped in through every pore in her body, her hips and heart and hands becoming expressions of the sensations it caused within her. Muscles which had been honed in over a decade of combat easily let themselves be repurposed for this moment.

_Just let go…_

She threw her head back and let out a deep breath, sending with it any regret or tension she had been holding onto. She was there. She just _was_. And in that moment, the rest of the universe melted away.

* * *

_Several songs later…_

Alice heard a voice in her ear. She opened her eyes, taking a moment to remember that the universe _was_ still there, and that she hadn't come out onto the dance floor alone. She turned to see Ashley, a huge grin splayed across the Gunnery Chief's face.

"What?" Alice asked, not having heard a word that was said.

"I said I told her asari had no excuses!" Ashley exclaimed, pointing. Alice followed her gaze to Liara. Eyes closed, a soft smile on her lips, Liara danced as though the music was a part of her, was an extension of her own being.

"I'll say," Alice breathlessly responded. She felt her pulse quicken. She swallowed hard, trying to keep the butterflies from flying out of her stomach. Alice noticed that her body began to move of its own accord; like she was some snake being charmed by Liara's dancing form. The ease in which the normally shy asari allowed her sensuality to be displayed was simply mesmerizing.

Alice felt a strong, calloused pair of hands wrap themselves around her waist, pulling her backwards.

"Looking good there, red," came a gruff voice in her ear.

Alice whipped her head around and was startled to see a large, thickly-muscled man with a shaved head grinning at her. The intrusion set off alarms in her head, combat senses urging her to lay him out.

"How 'bout you an' me—"

Alice grabbed his hands and removed them from her body, shoving him away. Her senses weren't wrong, but they weren't called for at this time. This was a club, not combat. And this ugly mook was no more a threat to her than any of the other unwanted advances she'd received in her club-going years. She could restrain herself. Decking him would be satisfying, but ultimately it would be an overreaction where words would have sufficed.

"How 'bout _not_," she stated flatly. She stared him down as he backed away into the crowd, finally able to exhale the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. She shook her hands, which she had unconsciously balled up into fists. Closing her eyes, she took a few more steadying breaths, shaking her head at herself, disconcerted that such a minor intrusion had gotten her so flustered.

"Shepard?"

Alice opened her eyes at the sound of her own name. There stood Liara looking at Alice with concern etched in her eyes. It was then that she realized that it wasn't _that_ confrontation, or a confrontation at all, that had gotten her rattled.

"Is everything—"

Alice smiled, raising a hand to ward off Liara's unease. "I'm fine. Just… something you have to deal with when you just want to dance by yourself."

"Oh… I see," Liara nodded, looking somewhat downtrodden at Alice's words. "Then… I shall let you—"

As Liara turned and started away from her, Alice was suddenly struck with an overpowering desire to stop her, to keep her from leaving, to keep her near. As though acting on its own will, her hand shot out and grasped Liara by the forearm. Alice gasped at the contact, feeling her breath catch in her throat. She looked down at her hand with wide eyes, shocked at its sudden betrayal. But she did not let go, she found herself not wanting to.

Liara turned back to face Alice, a look of surprise on her face. "Shepard?"

Alice looked up into Liara's eyes and blinked, once more finding the rest of the room dimming around those softly glowing blue orbs. The music began to be drowned out by the thumping of her heart as it pounded against her ribcage.

_Okay, Alice,_ she asked herself._ What NOW?_ She hadn't planned on doing this – whatever _this_ was, if it were even anything at all. At that moment, she didn't know what she wanted, she only knew that Liara walking away was not it.

_Right, and what's why you're here now, holding her arm like a little girl. So what are you gonna do, Alice?_ She opened and closed her mouth, trying to find words that weren't there. A lingering emotion needled the back of her awareness. Was it doubt? Fear? Was she unsure of what she wanted to do, or simply afraid to do it? Or perhaps she was afraid of what would come after, that the repercussions of her actions would ripple into the rest of her life, the same life that she'd only just managed to push to the background of her mind for the evening. Her chest felt as though a great weight was pushing down on it, making her rapid, nervous breathing that much more difficult.

Her body, as though growing tired of her mind's continued inaction, decided to act first. Her hand slid down to Liara's, and she pulled the asari towards her. Alice took a small step forward, their bodies nearly touching.

Liara gave a small gasp as Alice drew her near. She swallowed hard. "I… thought that…" she managed through shuddering breaths. "You wanted to… alone…"

_Just feel the music_…

But there was no more music, only the thumping in her chest. Alice pulled Liara's hand towards her, placing it on her waist. They were close enough that she could feel Liara's own nervous breaths against her face. She wondered if it was the same for Liara.

_Just let go…_

She wrapped an arm around Liara, pulling her in. She trembled as their bodies touched, every point of contact surging with arcs of electricity. Liara's fingertips gently traced small, shapeless designs on the small of Alice's back, sending shivers up her spine.

_…do whatever feels right…_

Alice placed her cheek next to Liara's, feeling the warmth and softness of the asari's blue skin. Her nose was filled with the scent of some exotic, undiscovered flower. Their bodies began to move in harmony to the beat of the music neither of them could any longer hear. She relished in the subtle strength of Liara's form moving with hers. In that moment, nothing else in the galaxy seemed to matter. And for the second time that night, she felt the rest of the universe melt away.


	3. Chapter 3

Alice cracked opened her eyes and breathed deeply, as though waking up from a dream. She couldn't tell how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours? Was she even still at the club? She felt her hips moving, but couldn't hear any music. She noticed her arms were wrapped around a warm, soft body, her fingertips idly brushing against a satiny smooth spot on the small of someone's back. She became acutely aware that another pair of legs was intertwined with her own. Opening her eyes a little wider, she saw Liara's face before her and gasped aloud. Her back stiffened and her eyes went wide in shock. The universe quickly snapped back into place; the thumping music, the dim lights, the pulsating crowd, the club. The club! They were still in the club. Alice gave a quick glance down to check that she was still fully clothed.

_Oh thank God_, she thought, laughing to herself. She brought a hand to her face to hide her relieved smile. She took a deep breath to calm the pounding in her chest.

Liara's eyes lazily crept open at the change in Alice's movements. Through her fingers, Alice met Liara's gaze. The thumping in her chest seemed to return with renewed vigor. She snapped her eyes shut and shakily removed her hand from her face and placed it on Liara's shoulder, trying to build some space between them. Bit by bit, Alice extricated her limbs from around Liara, finally able to command her body to stop dancing by doing so. Alice took another shuddering, nervous breath. She opened her eyes and was again ensnared by Liara's blue orbs. A gentle smile spread across Liara's lips. The hand that Alice had placed on Liara's shoulder seemed to move of its own accord, sliding down towards Liara's waist. Alice felt her body begin to move again, rejoining the rhythm with Liara's. Lips tightening into an embarrassed smile, she quickly snatched her hand back and forced herself to stop dancing.

She leaned in over Liara's shoulder and called out, "I'm gonna…" Alice stopped, suddenly unable to move, intoxicated by the delicate floral scent wafting from Liara's neck. She turned her head slightly, bringing her face inches away from the fabric covering the nape of Liara's delicate neckline. The neck… Alice felt drawn in, compelled to locate the source of that smell. She wanted to find the flower, to bury her face in it. She wanted to find an entire field of those flowers and lie down amongst them and simply bask in the warm sunlight. Liara turned her head, causing their cheeks to brush together and sending a jolt of electricity coursing down Alice's back. The shock caused a sharp intake of breath in Alice, breaking her free of her reverie long enough so she could will herself to continue.

"I'm gonna take a break and get some water," she said, blurting the words out faster than she had meant to. She pulled back and once more found herself transfixed by Liara's gaze. Liara gave a small nod, staring deeply into Alice's eyes. Alice quickly spun away, worried that if she looked at or touched Liara one more time, she'd somehow get stuck like that forever.

_I suppose there are WORSE fates_… She hastily made her way towards the restroom, trying to cover up with a free hand the broad smile that had made its way onto her face. Closing the door of the cavernous restroom granted some reprieve from the beat of the music. The thumping in Alice's chest, however, continued unabated. In the still air and the relative solitude of the large, dimly lit room, Alice managed to steady her breathing somewhat. Her cheeks felt flushed and warm to the touch. She strode across the room, her heels clopping loudly on the tiled floor, to one of the sinks. She hastily turned it on, splashing some of the cool water on her face. The contrasting cold felt glorious against her skin, but did little to break the spell she was under. She saw herself in the mirror, grinning stupidly like some lovesick teenager and giggled to herself.

_Oh God, Alice_… She shook her head at her reflection. _What the hell are you doing?_ She closed her eyes and sighed, running a hand over her damp face.

"First time?"

Alice stiffened at the voice, not realizing anyone else was in there with her. She jerked around and noticed a tall, striking, raven-haired woman poised before of one of the other sinks, looking over her shoulder at Alice. She wore a short strapless, backless black dress which displayed a breathtaking amount of skin. Tattoos snaked around her body, slipping under the fabric of her dress, daring the viewer to follow.

"What?" Alice asked, dumbfounded.

"With an asari, I mean." The woman stated, nodding her head towards the dance floor. "I saw the two of you dancing out there." A devilish grin spread across her face. "Pretty heavy stuff… Looks like she's got you under her spell."

"Yeah…" Alice admitted. She blinked hard and shook her head, wondering why she was talking to this woman. "Wait, what? No… I…"

"Mmm… They're amazing, asari," she purred, ignoring Alice's sputtering as she leaned in close to the mirror, examining her visage. She reached into a small bag on the counter and pulled out a dark tube of lipstick. Alice watched as she applied a layer of dusky crimson to her full lips, offering a little kiss to her reflection as she finished.

"Mm mm mm…" she moaned again, nibbling her lower lip. Capping the lipstick, she turned to face Alice, leaning her hip against the sink. Her eyes stared into space and a small, pleased smile crossed her lips. "I can still remember my first time. God…" she let out a sigh. "The things she did to me… Those hands. That _glorious_ lavender skin. Those eyes…" The woman closed her eyes and let the memories wash over her, sending shivers down her body.

Alice narrowed her eyes and scanned the dark-haired woman, wondering if she was planning on reliving those moments in greater detail and wanted some privacy.

Instead, she opened her eyes and shrugged. "It was over before I knew it. Always is. Everything's short-term with them," she stated, giving a shrug. "By comparison, I mean. A human lifetime is nothing but a blip compared to theirs, and no use in getting attached to something that's just gonna die on you. A few nights of _amazing_ passion, and they just… move on." Alice felt an odd twisting sensation in her chest as the woman spoke.

"That's certainly an _interesting_ interpretation," came a voice from one of the stalls. Alice heard a flush and out walked a comely woman whose brilliant blonde hair was swept up in a loose bun. She practically glowed in her white top, which had a high neck much like Liara's, but was cut to show off the pale skin of her shapely arms and stomach. The newcomer shook her head at the dark-haired woman with a bemused smile and moved to wash her hands.

"Don't listen to her, hun. Asari don't think that way. Not all of them, anyway." She finished washing her hands and turned to face Alice, fixing her with angelic blue eyes. "Sure, some will be happy to sleep their way through the galaxy. Much like some _humans_," she remarked with a sidelong glance to the dark-haired woman, who had slid her backside to sit atop one of the sinks, grinning shamelessly. "But, you know, just like us, some of them are looking for something… more."

The clenching within Alice's chest subsided slightly, and her breathing suddenly came easier. "You've been with an asari?" She inquired of the blonde woman.

"No, she hasn't," the dark-haired woman preempted with a smirk.

The blonde woman gave a small sigh. "It's true, I haven't," she responded demurely. "Though I did fall pretty hard for an asari, once. She was a professor of mine at university."

The dark-haired woman interjected once more. "Ooh yeah… she was _hot_ for teacher!" she toyed, smiling wickedly.

The blonde continued, waving her hand to brush off the other woman. "I was felt like such little girl around her, you know? Finding any excuse I could to spend time with her – visiting during every office hours, staying after lectures, volunteering—"

"Did she ever spank you for being a bad girl?"

"In retrospect," she continued, unfazed, "I'm sure she knew that I had feelings for her, but I was always too afraid to act on them. I mean she was my professor, I was her student… I didn't know if it would be appropriate, you know?" Alice's gaze fell to the floor, realizing she knew all too well.

"Oh, come on! Not being appropriate is half the fun!" the dark-haired woman teased. "What's the point of there being rules if you're not gonna bend them a little?" She hopped down from the sink and moved toward Alice. "And speaking of bending, do you have any idea how flexible asar—"

"Oh, stop," the blonde chided, shaking her head. She turned back toward Alice with an apologetic look. "Look… I'm just saying… I missed out on something that could have been great, and hardly a day goes by that I don't think about her and wonder…" She gently placed a hand on Alice's shoulder. "I don't know what your deal is with your friend out there, but if you're feeling something, life's too short to not go for it. I mean, what have you got to lose?"

The raven-headed woman laughed, making her way past Alice toward the exit. "Oh, she should totally go for it! She should take that little asari," she said, acting out her suggestions with her hands, "find some dark corner, shove her up against the wall and just—"

The blonde woman groaned. "Oh my God, you're impossible!" she sighed, following the other out. Alice stood alone in the restroom. She mutely stared at the door for a moment, brow furrowing slightly.

"That was really weird," Alice breathed. She shook her head. Turning in place, she glanced in the mirror, double-checked her hair and lipstick, and ensured that her outfit was behaving, keeping everything 'in place'. With another chuckle, she headed back out to the bar.

* * *

Alice sidled up to the bar. Placing both hands on it, she leaned heavily, eyes staring into nothing, mind swirling with a thousand and one thoughts of the night and beyond. Odd or not, the women in the restroom had been helpful, if only to give voice to her own internal struggle. The idea of keeping this _thing_ with Liara brief, with both quickly moving on with their lives had crossed her mind. Thinking about sex in casual terms was almost reflexive – she'd done it so many times over the years it only seemed natural. Except that this time it didn't… She felt _something_ with Liara. Something more than just the physical.

_That certainly hasn't stopped you from THINKING about the physical…_ Alice admitted to herself, a tingling sensation creeping down her legs.

No, she knew that she wanted it to be more than that. But what did that mean? Dating? Marriage? Growing old and having lots of little blue babies together? Alice chuckled at herself.

_Oh my God, what the hell is wrong with you? You're acting like such a teenager_, she sighed to herself, _already thinking about marriage when you haven't even been on so much as a date together_. Was such a thing even possible for the two of them? What sort of future could they have? She was a Spectre, sworn to serve the Council and protect the galaxy at any cost, even if it meant sacrificing her own life… or happiness. When the mission was over, she'd go on to the next crisis threatening to doom the galaxy, and Liara… There was nothing _tangible_ keeping them together. Liara could go anywhere, do anything she pleased. She could return to some far-off dig site and… Alice felt a lump rising in her throat. And they'd never see each other again.

And yet…

_She's free to go anytime she wants NOW, and she's here. She chooses to stay_. Together on this mission. Together on this ship. Together with her. It might not be much, but it had to count for something.

Of course, none of that would matter if she got court-martialed for pursuing a romantic relationship with someone under her command. She had no doubt that the Alliance was capable of such a thing – after all, these were the same people who kept a great soldier like Ashley down because her _grandfather_ gave them a black eye. But would they have the authority to act against her? She was a Spectre now, she answered to the Council. Of course, the ship, the crew, and just about everything else she had was owned by the Alliance. It's possible that the Council would provide her with a new ship. Then she'd be able to hand-pick her crew, which would be a windfall. That is, of course, assuming they didn't have the same regulations about fraternization that the Alliance did.

There was still the issue of Liara being under Alice's command while she was on the ship. One of the first things Alice was taught before she took up a position of leadership was to not get emotionally involved with your crew. Doing so only causes problems. You can't have your subordinates wondering if your orders are driven by reason or emotion. Or worse: disobeying your orders because of their own feelings for you. Of course, as Dr. Chakwas pointed out, she was already going against that mindset by being friendly with her crew, and the universe hadn't collapsed. Yet. But this was… This was different.

"Hey hey hey! None of that!"

Alice looked up at a bartender as he zipped by, spinning a bottle of some liquor or another in his hand, wagging a finger in her direction.

"None of that mopey shit in my bar, red. You hear me?" He cracked a grin to let her know he was only _mostly_ serious.

She returned the smile, holding up her hands in mock surrender, and he spun away to help another patron. Leaning once more against the counter, she observed him working. It didn't take her long to become impressed at his ability. Each movement leading into another – pouring a drink turned into collecting a bill transitioned to cleaning up – no motion wasted.

"You make that look easy," she called out to him.

"What's that?" he asked as he dropped an empty bottle into an unseen refuse bin before kicking the bin back under the counter and deftly bringing up a fresh bottle to open.

"I said you're making all that look too easy."

"What, this?" he asked as he flipped a glass onto the counter and began pouring a drink. "Nah, you should see all the broken glass back here. Good thing that music's so damn loud, no one hears all the shit I drop." He gave her a wink and slid the freshly-poured drink to a patron, dropped the bottle back into place beneath the bar, and grabbed the money for the drink before spinning around to ring up the bill.

"Still, you seem like you know what you're doing back there."

He let out a laugh, grabbing a fresh order from the printer and the glasses he'd need to make it in one swift movement. "Hell, red. Half the time I'm just hoping I don't drop a bottle of the expensive shit."

"And the other half?"

He chuckled. "The other half of the time I _am_ dropping the expensive shit."

Alice smirked. "Well at least it seems like you're making up for it," she said, gesturing at the nearly overflowing tip jar.

He gave a quick glance over his shoulder as he slid the drinks across the counter. "Eh, most of the time, sure. You got your good nights and your bad. Tonight looks like it's gonna be a pretty good night, but who knows? It ain't easy, that's for sure."

"You ever think about doing something 'easy'?"

He stopped his bartender ballet long enough to square off to Alice. "Easy? What's easy? Boring little agro-planets out in the boondocks of the galaxy? Taking care of some shifty-eyed cows for a living and eating the same three prepackaged meals morning, noon, and night just so you can pretend that you're safe? No variety? No excitement? No thank you. I'm here doing this 'cause I want to be. Easy's for chumps!" he finished, wagging a finger at her to accentuate his point.

Alice gave a little laugh. "Fair enough."

"How 'bout you, red?" he asked, resuming his flurry of activity. "You likin' what you do?"

Alice lowered her eyes as she thought about her current situation – chasing down a mad turian Spectre, hell-bent on wiping humanity off the face of the galaxy, who commands an army of killing machines, flies at the helm of one of the largest and most dangerous ships anyone has ever seen, and has one of the galaxy's most powerful asari matriarchs at his side. If that weren't bad enough, as a Spectre herself, her every move was meticulously examined and second-guessed by the Council, her every mistake broadcast across the galaxy by over-zealous reporters, and the results of her decisions often had body counts attached to them.

But then she recalled the Spectre induction ceremony, and the great swell of pride she felt when she was given the honor of being humanity's first representative amongst those ranks. She regularly had Admiral Hackett of the 5th fleet call her personally to request assistance. She got to visit worlds most people would never set foot on, see sights that most would never see. And the people… Ash and Garrus and Tali and Kaidan and Wrex and… and Liara…

Alice smiled. "It ah… it has its moments."

The bartender guffawed and tossed an empty bottle across the bar where it clattered in another unseen waste bin. "That's all life is, red, just a buncha moments 'til we get through the day. Good ones don't come without bad."

Alice's smile widened. "You are wise beyond your years, my good man."

He chuckled and extended his hand. "Name's Dex."

Alice accepted the offering, shaking his hand casually. "Alice."

"Nice to meet ya. So, Alice, what can I get ya?"

"Just water. Make it _two_."

"Whoah, careful there, girl. Don't wanna _overdo_ it…"

* * *

Tali sat alone at the table and blew out a sigh, shutting down the file she had been projecting on her visor. She'd already read through every news feed and tech manual that she had on her, and was quickly being overwhelmed with boredom. She thought about flagging down one of the waitresses and ordering another of whatever beverage Chief Williams had forced onto her earlier, but the idea of drinking by herself somehow made her feel worse than simply sitting by herself. She began to regret coming out in the first place. No, that wasn't it – she liked being off the ship – the pulse of the music and the overall noisiness of the club was a welcome reprieve from the deafening silence on the _Normandy,_ so different from any of the ships on the Flotilla.

She felt incredibly stupid for having pretended to pass out so she could get out of drinking with Ashley and Liara. She just wasn't used to the focused attention from the crew outside of engineering. She appreciated that Ashley had gone out of her way to invite her along, given the Chief's well-known dislike for aliens. Truth be told, Ashley wasn't that bad of a person to hang out with. She could be charming, if a little brusque at times. Hearing her speak about her family's history, Tali began to think that maybe her dislike of aliens had more to do with the past than any personal experience. She made a mental note to try and be more receptive to the aggressive friendship tactics of Chief Williams – Ashley, she corrected herself, recalling the woman's insistence that 'When I look like this, you can call me Ashley.'

She looked out across the heads of the dancing mass towards the bar where she had last seen Shepard, chatting with the bartender. Shepard, on the other hand, was someone that Tali always looked forward to seeing. She supposed that was the REAL reason that she felt so stupid and alone at the moment. Would it have been so odd had she simply 'woken up' when Shepard arrived? Tali lowered her head, eyes half-open in remembrance of all the times that the two of them would sit on the floor of the engineering bay, poring over some recovered piece of a destroyed geth, or trying to identify salvaged debris pulled from a recovered satellite. She missed those times – times which seemed to be happening less and less often since Liara came on board. Tali shook her head. She knew that Shepard made a concerted effort to spend at least some one-on-one time with all of her crew. She recalled all of the times that she'd seen her leaning against the lockers, chit-chatting with Ashley, or crawling around the huge, six-wheeled Mako to help Garrus with repairs. She even made a point to talk to Wrex on occasion, despite the krogan's apparent desire to be left alone. She knew she couldn't blame Liara for "taking" Shepard away any more than she could the rest of the crew. Liara was just another crewmate for Shepard to spend time with, right? Tali sighed, feeling silly for worrying. It felt odd… desiring the proximity of someone like this. Particularly a human…

Tali looked back towards the bar just in time to catch Shepard head back to the dance floor, bottles of what appeared to be water in her hands. When the women first went to the floor, Tali hadn't been able to keep track of them amongst the rest of the masses. No longer slouched in her seat, Tali had a better view and was able to follow Shepard's face. She looked happy, or so it seemed. Tali was only just beginning to be able to read human facial expressions. Just then, Shepard stopped dead in her tracks, and her face took on a whole new look – one that Tali knew plenty well. It was the same look Shepard had on her face whenever she got ambushed by a reporter or was forced to speak with Ambassador Udina, a look that said _'You're in my way'_. Shepard began to move with haste towards something on the dance floor. Rising from her seat, Tali noticed that several humans had confronted Liara, one tall man in particular seemed to be rather agitated.

* * *

Thoughts flitted through Alice's head about all the times in the past when she'd had to knock some sense into a drunken idiot who just didn't _get _that she or her friends didn't want anything to do with him. Satisfying moments of retribution, ultimately accomplishing nothing. It's not as though those guys ever 'learned' anything by her kicking their faces in, and it sure never prevented other guys from trying the same thing later on, but it sure felt good to do it at the time. She knew she'd long since grown past the need for such blatant overreactions, though, and that she was only feeling the way she was because…

_Because SHE gets you acting like a teenager?_ Alice sighed, unclenching her jaw and loosening the death-grip she had on the bottles of water she carried as she approached the man closest to Liara.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you no means no?" Alice quipped.

"Excuse me?" the man responded, snarling at Alice.

"I said it doesn't look like she's interested." Alice positioned her body between Liara and her accoster. She gave Liara a quick look to make sure she was alright and pushed a bottle into her hand. "You okay?" she quietly asked. Liara offered a cool nod, eyes lowered. "Come on, let's go."

"That's her," Alice heard one of the other men call out. She turned and noticed the shiny head and ugly face of the burly man who had tried vainly to 'dance' with her earlier.

_Oh you've got to be kidding me_, she groaned.

"Ah, so you're the one," the tall man sniggered.

"I usually am," she responded. She squared her shoulders and turned to face the group. "There a problem here?" Her eyes narrowed and she felt her legs tense up, ready to pounce or run should either need arise.

The bald one stepped forward. "No problem, red. Just telling your little blue _friend_ here," he accentuated, jabbing a finger towards Liara, "to stay away from our women."

"Your women?" she scoffed. "Funny, I don't see any of _your _women around her…"

"C'mon, remember you and me were gonna dance earlier," he asked, lewdly gyrating his hips.

"Oh… I remember alright," Alice's lip curled in disgust. I remember telling you I wasn't interested."

"That's just 'cause she's got you under her spell, baby. I can fix that for ya."

"Apparently not, if you had to bring four of your boyfriends with you." She gave an amused glance at the three men she'd just prodded. "And who says I'm under a spell, anyway?"

"Come on, baby, you gonna turn down all this for some tentacle-headed _alien_?" he spat out the word like it was an insult.

Alice's eyes narrowed and she felt the muscles in her shoulders tensing up. It was one thing to be an overbearing jackass who couldn't take a hint, but it was another thing entirely to be a _bigoted_ overbearing jackass who couldn't take a hint. She took a breath to try and calm down and remind herself that he wasn't worth her time. "This may be hard to comprehend, but I'm pretty sure I turned you down without needing a reason."

"She's doing that mind shit to you, baby, come on." The bald man grabbed her wrist with a scratchy hand.

"Hey!" Liara barked, stepping forward.

Alice swept one arm back to keep Liara at bay. She deftly spun her other arm in a small circle, lessening the man's tight grip, twisting his right arm painfully. Her own hand free to move, she latched her fingers on the side of his hand. She jammed her thumb between the bones on the back of his hand and pressed hard. The hand bent backwards roughly, bringing the much larger man yelping to his knees. The three men in the rear immediately made a move towards Alice. With a quick glance, she shoved the kneeling man into them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Now, if there's nothing else…" Alice turned her back on the men and moved to usher Liara away. "Come on," she whispered, placing a hand on Liara's back to usher her away.

"Fine, bitch. Take your little blue whore and get the hell out of here!" the tall man growled.

Days later, Alice would look back at what happened next and feel a slight sense of relief. Had 'Commander Shepard' turned around – N7 operative, Citadel Spectre, Alliance Commander Shepard – she probably would have killed the man. Knuckle punch to the throat to force his hands high. Snap kick to the inside of the left knee to remove him from his feet. Right knee to the jaw to end the fight and likely break his neck. It would have been over quickly, executed with cold military precision. Not that it ever would have happened. Commander Shepard had more sense than to start a bar fight with someone just because he called one of her crew a name.

Ali-cat, on the other hand, just heard someone call her girl a whore. In response, the unrefined, unapologetic Ali-cat simply spun around and landed a devastating right-hook square on the tall man's still-snarling face. As she followed through with the blow, Alice's eyes went wide with the realization that her body had betrayed her yet again. She looked up and the universe seemed to slow to a crawl as the man crashed to the ground in a heap. The other four men immediately charged her and Liara.

In that moment, Alice certainly didn't feel any sense of relief.


	4. Chapter 4

The world snapped back into real-time for Alice just as the last man charging her cleared his downed companion. Without taking a moment to think, she hurled her water bottle at one of the men coming from the right, smacking him in the face. She darted to the left, leveling a forceful side-kick to the gut of the man closest to her. He tumbled back with a gasp, knocking into his companion, both falling down in a heap. She felt a strong pair of arms snap around her, pinning her elbows to her side. She whipped her head around and growled at the man – easily a head and a half taller than her. He responded by lifting her into the air and spinning in place. Another man was there waiting for her, fist already in motion. She managed to turn her head in time to absorb most of the blow, but the follow-up left-hook caught her high on her face, snapping her head backward and blotting out the world for a flash. He reared back for a vicious haymaker when suddenly she noticed a brilliant blue-white glow to her right.

* * *

Liara stood in the middle of the dance floor, dumbfounded, as she watched the tall man fly through the air before landing on the ground several feet away. Her eyes shifted to Shepard, who had sprung into action seemingly before the man landed. The attack had come as a surprise, particularly since she'd seen Shepard defuse high-pressure situations using words instead of fists several times before tonight.

Tonight… Tonight had so far been beyond anything that she could have expected. The first time she was able to socialize with her crewmates outside of the ship, the first time (in a very long time) she had felt so delightfully inebriated, the first time that… she could list off a dozen more things which made the night memorable, but perhaps the only thing that really mattered was the dance. _Their_ dance. Dancing by herself, being able to lose herself in the music the way Shepard described had been… fascinating. But to be that close to Shepard… The thrill of having Shepard be the one to pull them together had been… simply indescribable.

_Shepard…_ Liara looked up and saw Shepard being whipped around, feet flailing through the air. Another man smashed his fist into her face again and again.

Liara's biotics instinctually flared to life around her. Faster than the larger man could move – faster than she was even sure _she_ could move – she dashed forward. Dark energy swirled around her, forming a blue-white shockwave of fire which surged around her extended fist. The man barely had time to flinch before the wave of energy slammed into him, sending him high into the air. He tumbled end over end past the railing surrounding the dance floor, smashing through table after table, finally crashing through one of the windows leading to the patio, causing a spectacular clatter.

Liara felt her heart pounding in her chest, nearly as surprised with her own actions as she had been with Shepard's. Still, she couldn't deny a dim sense of vindication at sending Shepard's attacker soaring through the air like that. Smiling grimly, feeling somewhat satisfied, she righted herself and turned her attention back to Shepard and the man holding her aloft, ready to press the attack. She started forward but halted quickly when she noticed both sets of eyes were wide with shock. The man's attention was turned towards the carnage leading to the patio, where panes of glass were still crashing to the floor. Shepard, however, was looking behind Liara with a worried expression. Confused, Liara turned to follow Shepard's gaze.

Her heart sank. Every last person on the dance floor had stopped dancing. Every set of eyes was on her. Not the fight between Shepard and the other men. Not where the man who had been attacking Shepard had landed.

Her.

Then the shouting began. Dozens of angry faces yelled obscenities in her direction. Liara looked around, feeling her heart drop into her stomach with a sickening splash.

She had forgotten one of the first rules of combat that she was ever taught, that Shepard had reiterated time and time again.

_Don't EVER make yourself a target._

"Oh no…"

* * *

Tali, leaning high in her chair to get a better view of the dance floor, cheered loudly and pumped her fist in satisfaction as Shepard's amazing right hook sent the man who had been accosting Liara flying through the air. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized that wasn't going to be the end of it. No sooner had the four other men began to charge than Tali vaulted over the table and began a mad dash for the dance floor. She bounded over the railing, dropped the three or so extra feet to the lowered surface and scrambled quickly towards the impending fight. Shoving her way through the crowd, she desperately tried to keep an eye on her Commander. Shepard managed to take down two of her attackers, but had been grabbed from behind by a third.

"Tali!" she heard a familiar woman's voice shout as she shouldered past a dancing couple. Tali whipped her head around and briefly registered Ashley, whose arms were wrapped around a handsome – she supposed that was the correct word for it – man who was busily burying his face into her neck.

Not breaking stride, Tali turned quickly, belted out "Shepard!" and continued running.

"What the hell?" Ashley's brow furrowed briefly before an intense blue-white light lit up the entire dance floor. Her eyes widened at the man who flew up and over the railing. "Oh, shit!" she exclaimed, rapidly untangling herself from her amorous partner and bolting after Tali.

* * *

"The explosion goes off, knocking the tentacle loose from the wall," Garrus spoke with excited tones. "No sooner does the dust settle than we see that asari commando chargin—"

"Hang on," the asari waitress interrupted, cocking her hip to the side. "The _same_ asari commando that you had just turned to a pile of green jelly?"

"Well," he paused, rubbing his chin with an exaggerated gesture, "sort of. It was another clone."

"A _clone_?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, the original was—"

"A clone from the _plant_?" she verified.

"Yes! It was—"

"You _really_ expect me to believe that?" She pursed her cobalt-blue lips in a smile that made Garrus believe that she didn't care one way or another if he was telling the truth.

Garrus caught the look and chuckled, mandibles flaring in a grin. "It's true!"

"A giant plant that poops out asari? _Green_ asari?" she reiterated shifting her empty tray to her other hand and leaning against the railing.

"Lieutenant, back me up on this," he called out over the waitress' shoulder.

Kaidan laughed softly and turned his head just enough so that he didn't have to break eye contact with the striking woman before him. "You know, Garrus, you keep asking for confirmation on your stories and you're going to lose your credibility…"

The waitress' smile widened as she laughed at Kaidan's rejection. "So what did you do with it?"

"With the plant that 'poops out asari', as you so colorfully put it?"

"Yeah."

"Well…" he trailed off.

"Aw, you killed it?" She sounded genuinely surprised.

"Well, we didn't exactly have time to discuss the potential investment opportunities of an endless supply of green asari commandos…" The waitress laughed aloud, playfully shoving Garrus in the chest. "Besides, it was the _bad_ kid of asari factory. You know, the kind that controls…" he trailed off. His eyes narrowed, catching a flash of light from inside the club. An instant later, one of the nearby windows shattered spectacularly when the limp form of a human man came crashing through it.

"What the…" Garrus hurried towards the newly created opening, peering at the disturbance. His eyes followed the path of destruction towards the dance floor. There stood Liara, wreathed in her biotic barrier. A dozen men were slowly moving to encircle her.

He yelled over his shoulder. "Lieutenant! We've got—" he began, but Kaidan was already charging past him, leaping over the broken glass into the club.

* * *

"Oh, shit!"

The exclamation from Alice's assailant pulled her back to the reality of her current predicament. Still aloft, she swung one leg up and quickly reversed its direction, kicking her heel back into the man's knee. He stumbled and yelped in agony. As soon as Alice felt her feet hit the floor, she snapped her head backward. She felt the crack of bone against face, and his grip on her loosened. She spun in place and smashed an elbow into the side of his head. She quickly followed through with a right-hook to his face, knocking him to the floor.

Alice whirled around to see Liara defending herself against three new attackers, with more advancing. She started forward but staggered to one knee, a meaty hand having snagged her ankle. She growled, guessing she hadn't hit the last man hard enough. A dark form loomed over her as one of the men she kicked away approached. He held a chair above his head, looking to end her night.

Suddenly, he was knocked from his feet by Tali as she drove a shoulder into his back. Ashley followed close behind, driving her forearm to side of another man's head. He dropped to the floor without a fuss. Alice gathered her wits and kicked a heel into the face of the man grabbing her, causing his whole body to flop weirdly before he released his grip. Tali quickly helped Alice to her feet.

"What the hell's going on?" Ashley yelled, exasperated.

"Shepard punched a guy," Tali responded.

Ashley's eyes widened with a chuckle. "What? Why?" she asked, turning towards her Commander.

Alice turned towards a new group of men seeking to join the fray. "It's… complicated…"

* * *

_Well done AGAIN, Liara_, she congratulated herself, ducking one man's wild swing. _Turning another situation from bad to worse… Your mother would be PROUD._ She deflected two more blows, inadvertently allowing one to slip past her defenses. She involuntarily flinched as it thudded harmlessly against her barrier – another thing she cursed herself for.

_What are you doing, Liara?_ _You know how well your barrier works._ She sighed, or would have had three men not been trying to pulverize her. One man thought to try and kick her. She willed herself to allow the strike in. No amount of punching or kicking would cause her barrier to falter, but she still felt compelled to take a more _active_ approach in defending herself. And therein lay the problem. Her last attempt at defense had been the _cause_ of all this insanity, sending that moron who had been attacking Shepard over the railing.

_Goddess, but that felt good_. Still, she knew it had been an overreaction, caused, no doubt, by the alcohol or the excitement of the situation.

_Or perhaps the fear of seeing Shepard hurt pushed you into action?_ She reasoned. _You do seem to have a habit of making a fool of yourself around her._ One man, growing increasingly frustrated at his failed attacks on her, lunged forward in a rather obvious manner. She threw up an arm, driving the attacker wide. She immediately called to mind three ways in which she could counter-attack, but hesitated, as every last one of them seemed like it would _exacerbate_ the problem rather than solve it.

_Surely there must be a way…_

Garrus chose that moment to come flying in, tackling two of the men to the ground. The third found himself wrapped in a blue-white biotic glow which slowly lifted him into the air. Kaidan strode forward, his own biotics flaring in the darkness. He casually flung his arm backward, sending the man tumbling – much more softly than she had – into another pair of oncoming attackers.

_I suppose that is one solution…_ she mused.

"Liara," Kaidan called out. "What's going on?"

She turned towards one man who was charging her and gestured, lifting him slowly into the air with a biotic pull. "It's…" she paused, thinking of the right word. She flicked her wrist, sending the man flailing – as gently as she could manage – over the railing. "…complicated."

* * *

The man lunged for Alice with another untrained, guileless attack. She easily side-stepped and threw up a hand to deflect the blow. Rotating her wrist, she grabbed onto his forearm. A quick yank caused him to overbalance. She continued the movement, pulling him alongside her. As he passed, she drove a knee hard into his abdomen. Shoving him to the ground, she turned quickly, in case anyone else chose that moment to join in the fight.

_Damnit, Alice, NOW what the hell are you doing?_ She growled, mostly at herself, surveying the carnage around her. Dozens of men lay on the ground, those who weren't completely incapacitated groaned at their various injuries. Most of the other patrons, save for a few drunken gawkers, had all fled.

_Way to go…_ Every one of her crew was in the middle of their own fight. Kaidan and Liara biotically lifted enemies into the air and gently – if such a thing can be said – tossed them into a rapidly-growing heap. Ash took a solid shot to the face from her attacker, and before he could land a follow-up, Tali kicked his legs out from under him. Garrus traded blow after blow with another turian.

_You just HAD to take that shot… You couldn't let that idiot have the last word, could you?_ she thought, mentally kicking herself. _Let it never be said that Alice Shepard could manage her cool around a girl…_

A sharp strike to Alice's kidneys broke her moment of introspection. Her back arched and an involuntary yelp escaped her lips. The nagging frustration broiled over to anger as she whipped around and delivered a vicious one-two punch to the sneaky assailant. He staggered for a moment. She charged in and drove a knee into his stomach. His eyes rolled back into his head and he crumpled uselessly to the ground. She looked around and noticed that the brawl had exhausted its supply of willing participants. Her crew, their own fights finally finished, turned and slowly moved towards her, panting from the exertion.

Garrus broke the relative silence first. "So… what was _that_ about?" he asked, glancing towards Liara.

Ash, bringing a hand to her face to rub her tender jaw, responded with a chuckle. "Shepard hit a guy."

"Wait, what?" Kaidan asked, astounded. "Commander, what happened?"

"Liara was getting harassed by some guys," Tali offered. "Shepard stepped in and… well…" Tali gestured at the devastation around them.

Ashley stopped cold and slapped a hand over her mouth. She discreetly shifted her gaze towards Alice, shoulders shuddering in a silent laugh.

Liara took a small step forward, bringing a hand to her chest. "This was my—"

Alice cut her off. "Sorry everyone…" She placed her hands on her hips. Her eyes moved from sign after sign of the results of her brash actions, doing her best to avoid the gaze of her crew: the shattered window; the destroyed tables; limp body after limp body after limp body. The spot on her back where she took the last shot of the night began to throb angrily. Her hand absent-mindedly moved towards her back to rub it. The shifting lights and heavy bass of the music in the newly emptied club made the entire place feel that much more empty, sending a wrenching feeling through Alice's gut.

"That… kinda got out of hand," she said with a sigh.

After several long moments, Ashley laughed loudly. "You really _don't _mess around, do you skipper?"

Garrus chuckled. "Never a dull moment with you, is there, Shepard?"

Alice laughed at that, shaking her head at herself and rubbing her temples in frustration. Despite the lingering symptoms of guilt and anger she felt coursing through her, the whole ordeal seemed so damn… _absurd_. All she had done was hit a guy. One punch. One stupid, thoughtless blow to the face had cleared the entire damn club. She leaned her head back and sighed to the ceiling.

_Such is the life of a Spectre, huh?_ She thought to herself._ EVERY action is gonna have some major consequences…_

"Well, now that that's over with…" Garrus began, looking around the room.

Tali shrugged. "We should probably head back…"

"What?" Ashley exclaimed. "Oh come on! The night has barely _begun!_"

Kaidan chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head. "I think our night _here_ is over…"

Alice uncovered her face and brought her gaze back down to her crew as they argued over the next move. Her eyes drifted towards Liara, who motionlessly surveyed the collateral damage from the brawl. Alice moved towards her. Liara, sensing the approach, turned her head to Alice.

"Shepard, I—"

"Liara, look, I—"

"Police! Nobody move!" someone barked out from the entrance.

Alice whipped her head around and felt her heart drop again. A dozen police officers brandishing weapons began filing in through the entrance to the club, arresting everyone in sight.

"Hands where I can see 'em!"

"And there's the rub," Kaidan sighed, raising his hands above his head. The rest of the _Normandy_ crew followed suit.

_Damnit…_ Alice groaned inwardly, shaking her head. She sighed, realizing how foolish she was, thinking she could get off so easily. Her eyes drifted from the police, who began making their way onto the dance floor, to her crew, resigned to their fate. The fate that _she_ had sealed. She turned her head to Liara, who looked back at her and smiled softly.

"I… I had a _wonderful_ time tonight, Shepard."

Alice felt her heart flutter. She tried to smile, but knowing how badly she had screwed things up, all she could manage was a tight-lipped mask of regret. She wanted to say how much she had enjoyed the night. Even with the brawl, the regret, the nerves and anxiety and self-doubt, it was going to be a night she remembered for a long time. Tomorrow she'd go back to being Commander and chasing down Saren and answering to the Council and everything else… But for at least a night, she had been able to doff that mantle and just be herself. Even if being herself is what wound up getting them all arrested… She straightened slightly at the thought.

_What the hell? I've never been arrested before…_ She recalled all the times she'd gone out and gotten herself in trouble, and not once had the cops ever managed to catch her. Her mind raced through a dozen different past scenarios where she'd managed to avoid incarceration, each of which seemed more irresponsible than the last. She settled on the first – and possibly the least insane – idea that had popped into her head. It wasn't the _best_ idea, there was a fair chance that it wouldn't work. And even if it did work, it meant that she and her crew would have to move fast and not get caught in the initial phase. A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her how nuts she was for even thinking about trying to ditch the police. That she was a Spectre, that she needed to just deal with the consequences of her actions…

Alice shook her head once more. Not tonight. Tonight she wasn't a Spectre. Tonight she had put all of that aside. Tonight was _her_ night. And tonight wasn't over, yet.

She lowered her arms and strode forward.

"You, there! Don't move!" the lead officer called out, raising a hand for her to halt. The crew turned their heads toward Alice.

She snapped her omni-tool to life, its orange glow wrapping itself around her forearm, and began keying a command into it. "Cover your eyes," she commanded as she passed her crew. Her omni-tool began to emit a whirring sound, the pitch rapidly rising.

"What?" Ashley exclaimed.

Tali looked around quickly. "Shepard, what—"

Kaidan furrowed his brow. "What are you doing?"

"I said _don't move_," the officer growled, taking a menacing step towards her.

"_Cover your eyes!_" Alice repeated with a shout, turning her head back towards the bar and bringing up her right arm to cover her face. She thrust out her left hand, raising her omni-tool high into the air towards the police and hoped that her crew had enough sense to obey. A heartbeat later, the noise ceased, and the orange glow of her omni-tool was overtaken by a brilliant flash that drenched the entire club with white light.

* * *

From the relative safety behind the bar, Dex watched the melee wind itself down. His eyes were wide, his heart pounded in his chest. Man alive… There hadn't been a fight like that in months, maybe _years_. Nobody seemed _too_ hurt, except maybe that poor sap who'd gone flying through the window right off the bat. _That_ was gonna piss off the boss. Blood was easy enough to clean, and _Apex_ had a good enough rep that one fight, no matter how big, wasn't gonna screw it up. But replacing a window that damn big wasn't gonna come cheap…

"Bartender, these drinks going to start pouring themselves, or do I have to come back there and do it myself?" a deep, rumbling voice came from the side, dragging Dex back to reality. He turned his head towards a large, scarred krogan – one of the few customers who hadn't left the club or joined in the scuffle – indicating an empty glass in front of him. Dex blinked for a moment, then reached under the bar, grabbing the nearest bottle of ryncol to refill the krogan's glass.

"Tough krogan like you, I'd have figured you'd be out there in the fight."

The krogan merely shrugged, tipping his glass back and dumping the contents into his huge maw. "Shepard can handle herself. Not like anyone in this place could—"

"Wait, Shepard?" Dex gasped. "_The _Shepard? _Commander_ Shepard? The Spectre? Holy shit!" He took a closer look back at the small group of people in the middle of the dance floor that seemed to be the center of all the ruckus. There were only two human women, and one of them had hair which was a hell of a lot curlier than the vids he'd seen of Shepard. The other was… His eyes widened in recognition, remembering the conversation he'd had only a few minutes earlier with Alice, the redhead.

"Well I'll be damned!" he laughed, a huge smile splaying across his face.

_Guess that's COMMANDER Alice… _A knock came on the bar. Dex turned his head towards the krogan, who indicated his suddenly empty glass. Again, Dex reached over and filled it.

"Police! Nobody move!"

"Damn…" Dex murmured, shaking his head. "Looks like the Shepard's not makin' it out of this one."

The krogan turned one large eye towards the confrontation. He let out a small chuckle, which sounded more like a grunt than any laugh he'd ever heard. "Doubt it." He gulped down his drink and shoved the empty glass back towards Dex, who refilled it without waiting to be prompted again.

"_Cover your eyes!_" Alice's command echoed out across the club.

"You might want to listen to her," the krogan said, turning his head away from the entrance.

"Huh?" Dex said, staring dumbly at the krogan. Suddenly, the entire club went brilliantly white. "Oh, shit!" he yelped, throwing his hands up defensively. Just as quickly, the room returned to relative darkness. Dex tried to blink the echoes of the blinding light out of his vision when he heard a charging of footsteps in his direction.

"Back door! _Back door!_" Alice called out. Enough of Dex's sight returned just in time to notice a handful of aliens and humans vault over the bar and shoulder their way through the door leading to the service exit. He turned and saw Alice approach the bar, giving a quick glance over her shoulder at the police officers who were still stumbling around in a half-blind haze near the entrance.

"So, red…" Dex smirked. "This one of them _good_ moments, or _bad _moments?"

Alice turned and offered a wry grin. "I dunno…" she said, sliding across the bar. "Still kind of early to tell." She turned to the krogan seated near Dex and offered a small nod and a smile.

"Wrex."

The krogan returned the nod. "Shepard."

And with that, Alice disappeared through the door. Dex turned slowly back to the krogan with a look of surprise on his face. The krogan merely slid his glass across the bar expectantly.

* * *

Alice rushed through the service area and through the door leading to the back alley. As it closed behind her, she quickly called up her omni-tool. Her fingers danced across it briefly before she slapped it against the locking mechanism of the door. She squinted as the lock sparked and sputtered from green to reddish-orange. Satisfied, she moved to join the rest of her crew.

"That oughta hold them for a while," she said, nodding.

"What did you do to your omni-tool to cause that light, Shepard?" Tali asked.

"A little hack I came up with when I was a kid – overloads the flashlight tool to work kind of like a flashbang. It's gotten me out of more than a few scrapes in the past."

"So, you make a habit of evading the police, Shepard?" Garrus asked with a grin.

"Yes, you certainly seem well _prepared _for it," Tali remarked, her glowing eyes narrowing beneath her visor.

Alice shrugged and gave a tired laugh. "Hey, I _tried_ to warn you guys…"

"So what now, Skipper?" Ashley asked.

"Back to the ship," Kaidan stated flatly.

"Oh come on, LT! The night is still—"

"No, he's right, Ash," Alice interjected. "But we can't all go together." She took a step down the alley and gave a quick look down the side streets.

"Why not?" Tali inquired.

"If we head back as a group we're be easier to follow. They catch us and we still get fined or arrested, and I don't feel like dealing with that, not tonight. We split up, lose the cops, and then head back to the _Normandy_ in our own time." She turned back to her crew, each of whom stared at her incredulously.

"No really, Shepard," Garrus remarked, breaking the silence. "How often _do_ you do this?"

Alice chuckled. "What, did you think I was _born_ into the military? I had a life before I enlisted. Even had one for a while afterward."

"Alright!" Ashley interrupted, clasping her hands together. "So, splitting up… Tali will come with me, Garrus and LT can pair up, and… that just leaves you and T'Soni, Skipper!"

Alice narrowed her eyes at Ashley, who did an admirable job of masking a mischievous grin.

"Everyone pick a different direction, lose your tail, and head back to the _Normandy_ where we get to rub this whole damn night in Joker's face!" Ashley finished, pumping her fist victoriously.

"Hang on," Kaidan said, raising a hand to call for pause. "There's got to be a better—"

"_There they are!_"

Alice whipped around at the sound and saw that the police hadn't bothered to try and follow them through the back door, but had quickly doubled back and made their way around the club. Apparently they didn't take too kindly to scofflaws. Muttering a curse, she snapped her omni-tool to life and raised it in the air before her.

"_Cover your eyes!_" she yelled out over her shoulder.

The lead cop's eyes widened in horror. "Aw, shit! Back! _Back_!" he yelled, ducking behind the corner along with the rest of his squad.

Alice quickly shut off her omni-tool, spinning around to her squad who had obediently shielded their faces. "Go! Go! Go!" she whispered loudly, trying desperately not to laugh while ushering them around the corner, away from the cowering police force.

* * *

After a few moments of squinting, waiting for the impending flash from the damnable woman's omni-tool, Officer Jarrin slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head slightly, peering to the side, still anticipating the blinding blast of light. He raised a hand to signal the rest of his men to stay back, then inched towards the edge of the building. Quietly counting to three, he quickly peeked around the corner and was halfway back to his hiding position when he realized that the entire group he was ordered to arrest were gone.

He spat out a loud curse and called for his men to give chase. Raising a hand to his communicator, he radioed in. "This is Jarrin. I've got six men is in pursuit of the group that started the brawl at _Apex_. I ask again, do we have anything more to go on?"

"_Negative, Jarrin. Same as before. An asari, a female quarian, a male turian, and three humans – two female, one male," _came the static-filled reply. "_No further details._"

Jarrin growled at the incompetence. "What the hell are we supposed to do, stop every damn human and alien we meet out here?"

"_What do you want? It was dark, and most of the witnesses are still regaining consciousness. It can't be that hard to find a group that mixed, don't see too many quarians around here. I did hear someone mention she had a really nice ass, thou_—"

Jarrin snarled and shut his communicator off. "Idiot…" he mumbled under his breath. Shaking his head, he picked up his pace down the alley.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** **(May 1st, 2011):** _Sorry for the delay in this update. I spent the past month making heavy revisions to the first four chapters because I had started out the story with one end in mind, but as I wrote it other (better) ideas made their way in. But it left me with a very uneven story, and I felt that I had written myself into a corner. Rather than leave things as they were, I decided to take some time to really make this the story that I wanted._

_So please, if you have the time go back and read the first four chapters. I hope you're as pleased with them as I am!_

_Thank you for my beta-reader (Gogoplata) for all his helpful tips!_

* * *

Alice dashed down the dark alleyway after the rest of her crew, following the lead of Ashley, who had darted around yet another corner in an attempt to lose the pursuing police force. She turned her head to check behind her – so far, so good. As she turned back around she let out a little yelp as she saw Liara had come to a complete stop in front of her, apparently having halted the escape along with the rest of the group. Alice barely managed to slow her pace before slamming into Liara, eliciting a grunt of surprise from her. Alice quickly wrapped her arms around Liara's waist to keep her from falling, laughing in embarrassment as she did so. Liara turned, softly panting from the run, and offered a little smile.

"Thank you."

"What," Alice smirked, "for nearly knocking you over?"

"No…" Liara laughed. "For—"

"Alright," Ashley said, looking around the immediate area. "This looks like a good a place as…" she trailed off when she noticed Alice and Liara's apparent embrace. Alice gasped and quickly removed her arms from Liara before anyone else managed to turn around. Ashley gave a small, knowing smirk and continued. "This looks like a good a place as any to split up."

Alice glanced around and saw that it indeed was a good place to split up. The side street they were on forked just in front of them, and if Alice leaned slightly, she could see each fork looked like it turned and split again farther down.

"See you guys back at the ship! Last one back buys the first round _next_ time out!" Ashley grinned.

"Keelah," Tali groaned, "I don't know if I can _take_ another night out with this group…" She continued to grumble as she meandered down the left-most fork.

"We'll take the left-center road," Garrus offered, making his way to follow Tali. Kaidan gave a quick glance back at Alice and Liara and turned to follow.

Liara nodded in the direction of the right-most path. "Then that leaves us going this way," and briskly walked off.

As she made her way to follow Liara down the dark path, Alice caught Ashley looking at her with that same bemused expression on her face.

_Have fun_, Ashley mouthed, giving a little wave.

Alice made a threatening gesture in her direction, and was about to elaborate when she heard Liara call out to her from up the road.

"Shepard?"

Alice quickly dropped the gesture and trotted towards Liara. "Lead the way!"

* * *

_Several minutes later…_

Tali plodded along the road alongside Ashley, sighing as the woman checked over her shoulder for the third time in as many minutes.

"Alright, I don't think we're being followed," Ashley said.

"I could have told you that," Tali murmured, bringing up her omni-tool.

Ashley raised an eyebrow in the quarian's direction. "You got something on there to track cops?"

"I can track anybody who is carrying a weapon larger than a micropistol in a twenty-meter radius," Tali shrugged. "Nobody has been following us since the group split up."

"Oh…" Ashley said, blinking in surprise. "Guess that's good."

The two continued to walk and for the first time that night Tali dearly wished she was back at the club, if only to break the agonizing silence in the open air. Maybe, if she were back at the club – or _next_ time, she gulped – she would try dancing with the rest of the crew. She enjoyed dancing, but hadn't had the opportunity since leaving the Flotilla. Though there was that one time at that club on the Citadel – _Flax_, or _Flux_, or something – but the angry-looking turian bouncer kept staring at her the entire time, as though she was going to burst into flames or rob the place right in the middle of the dance floor. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't able to enjoy herself much after that. At least at _Apex_ nobody seemed to care that she was a quarian, they all were perfectly content to just shake their bodies to the music. She'd have to ask Shepard if she recognized any of the songs that they played that night. Some of them had pretty good beats. Maybe next time she'd have a chance to dance with the crew. Maybe with Shepard?

Again she was struck with remorse after having so childishly withdrawn from the group. The first time she had been asked to join the rest of the crew in _anything_ that wasn't a meal on the ship or a ground mission and she blew it. Pretending to fall asleep after one drink, how could she be so stupid? And everything that she had missed out on… What a way to show appreciation to…

"Chief Williams?"

"What's up, Tali?"

"Thank you for… asking me to join you tonight."

Ashley let out a laugh. Smiling, she turned to the quarian. "You mean 'dragging you out with us, kicking and screaming'?"

Tali stiffened. "What? I was not kicking OR—"

"Relax, Tali," Ashley grinned, holding up her hands in defense. "It's just a turn of phrase."

"Oh, I see," Tali said, relaxing slightly. "It's very… evocative."

Ashley laughed once more. "I think that's the point."

Several more steps were walked in silence.

"This has been a strange night…" Tali remarked, shaking her head.

"You mean what little you saw of it face-down on the table?" Ashley smirked.

"Yes, that too," Tali grumbled. "I meant first the fight and now running from the police… I guess I did not know Shepard as well as I thought. I never would have imagined that she would do those things."

"Yeah, well, the skipper's always full of surprises, but I guess deep down she's just a regular gal who does crazy things when she's got the hots for…" Ashley choked on the words, stopping suddenly as her eyes went wide.

"The hots for…" Tali narrowed her eyes. She could have sworn she'd heard that term before from someone in the engineering bay, but she could never figure out what it meant. Humans had such strange turns of phrases. She turned to Ashley, who was looking as though she had just broken something very valuable. "What do you mean?"

"Damnit I was hoping you wouldn't have picked up on that…" Ashley groaned, slapping a hand to her face.

"What is it?"

Ashley opened her mouth to speak, but no words came forth. She shifted around uncomfortably.

"Chief Williams?" Tali asked, puzzled.

"Alright, look, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone…"

Tali shook her head in confusion. "Not tell anyone what?"

"The Commander…" Ashley began hesitantly. "Kind of… has a… _thing_… for Liara."

"A thing?" Tali felt as though her chest had suddenly become very hollow. She'd heard _that_ term used before, too. And if the two had anything to do with each other…

"You know. She _likes_ her…"

Tali shifted her gaze slightly.

"_Likes_ her likes her," Ashley reiterated.

Tali remained silent.

"As in more than—"

"I _understand_ what you mean, Chief Williams," Tali snapped, a little more curtly than she'd intended. She shook her head and began wringing her hands. "It's just… I don't… I mean she's… the Commander, and—"

"_Believe_ me, Tali, I know what you're thinking, I thought the same thing when I found out, only with more yelling and weapon-brandishing."

"What?" Tali straightened up in surprise.

Ashley held up a hand and shook her head. "I didn't point my gun _at_ Shepard, it was direc…" she sighed. "You know what? It's not important. The thing I realized is—"

"And…" Tali again averted her eyes. "Does Liara…"

"Have a _thing_ for the skipper? _Oh-ho _yeah!" Ashley grinned broadly. "She may as well have been yelling it up and down the halls or blasting it over the com with how subtle she was being about it… The whole thing was weird for me too, when I found out. I mean, I just figured Liara had a _crush, _or something, if century-old aliens can even _have_ crushes on humans. And then the skipper told me – accidentally, of course – how _she_ felt, and… Well I didn't think she was into girls, and _alien _girls to boot – no offense, Tali."

Tali's shoulders slumped as she tried to process everything Ashley was telling her. She anxiously fiddled with her hands, unsure _why_ the words were having such an impact on her.

"But after the skipper let it slip," Ashley continued, apparently not paying attention to Tali's reaction. "I started paying closer attention to her and the two of them and… I dunno. Liara just seems to make her happy, more at ease with life_._ And the way I figure, with all the crap she's gotta put up with between the Council telling her what to do and Alliance brass always ordering her around and of course the ever-present threat that a mad turian Spectre could unleash his army of geth on another human colony somewhere in the galaxy, I figure she deserves something – or someone – that lets her be at ease once in a while."

Placing one hand on her stomach, which had curiously began to gurgle, Tali turned and took a few slow steps down the path they were on.

"Look," Ashley said as came up behind Tali. "I know what you're thinking, 'never get romantically involved with your crew,' right? I gotta imagine that quarians have something similar. And I never really trusted Liara – still don't, really, at least not completely. But I do trust the Commander, and if she thinks she won't let her personal feelings affect how she leads us, then I believe her. And for whatever its worth, T'Soni's held a torch for the skipper since damn near the moment they met, and it hasn't seemed to get in the way of _her_ following orders. So… I still don't know how _I_ feel about the whole thing, but for now… I'm fine with it. Plus it's been a _lot_ of fun watching the skipper squirm around Liara tonight!"

"I guess…" Tali stared at the base of a nearby lamppost and desperately tried to focus on her breathing, since such a basic, necessary function seemed to be the only thing that made sense at that moment. There were so many thoughts and feelings whirling around inside of her that words became difficult to choose. "Yeah," she nodded. "I… _do_ trust Shepard… and… I suppose if… Liara… makes her happy."

Ashley laughed. "Damn, you came around faster than _I_ did," she grinned, clapping Tali on the shoulder as she continued down the road. "Come on, let's head back to the ship. I still wanna gloat about tonight before Joker heads to bed."

Tali stood motionless for several moments, blinking into the darkness, absent-mindedly brushing her fingers over her still-churning stomach, still pondering the words and their effect on her. She shook her head. "This has been a very strange night…" she whispered.

"And seriously, Tali… _NO_ telling anyone what we just talked about!"

Tali nodded. "Very strange…" she murmured

* * *

Garrus took in a deep breath of the city's night sky, it felt so much different on the lungs than the Citadel's recycled air, far less sanitized and processed. It wasn't necessarily that this air was _better_ – he'd grown so used to ship travel and living on space stations that he hardly even minded the synthetic feeling to the scrubbed air of a spaceborn vessel – it was just an interesting experience when he was able to breathe _natural_ air, to smell and even taste the area in a single breath.

He turned to face the Lieutenant, who hadn't spoken since the crew split up several blocks back. They'd quickly been able to determine that they were no longer being followed by the police, which could be a good thing for the two of them, or a bad thing for the rest of the crew. Still, the normally-quiet Lieutenant seemed more reserved since they had left the club than usual.

"Everything alright, Lieutenant?" Garrus asked.

Kaidan turned, blinking as though he had forgotten Garrus was there. "I'm sorry?"

"Thinking about that young lady you were talking to earlier?" Garrus asked. He offered a shrug. "Shame that the fight had to break things up like that. I suppose we _could_ go back to the club and try to find her. The last place the police are going to look is right—"

"N-no, that's not... That's not what I was…" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Nevermind."

Garrus' eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you sure everything is alright, Lieutenant?"

Kaidan dropped his hand to his side and let out a long breath, staring off into space. "I just… I'm a little _surprised_ at Shepard's actions tonight," he spat the word out.

Garrus chuckled, nodding slightly. "Yes… starting a fight in a bar was certainly not something that I expected of her… Still, nobody got too seriously hurt, and more importantly, we won."

"Not just starting the fight, but then running from the police afterward…" Kaidan continued, not listening to Garrus' comments.

"What did you expect her to do, Lieutenant? Let us all get arrested? Flash her Spectre card and try to get us off the hook? I worked Citadel Security for a long time, and I don't know about you, but whenever someone tried to wave around their status to get out of—"

"I don't know _what_ I was expecting from her…" Kaidan complained. "From the Commander… Tonight, I mean. I just…" He sighed, and quickly grew quiet, gazing off into the distance as they walked down the dimly lit road.

Garrus continued to watch Kaidan expectantly, waiting for him to finish his thought. After nearly a block of silence, Garrus shrugged and let the issue drop. He figured that he knew enough about humans to know when to not press them.

He took in another deep breath of the night air. Something was there, he knew, bubbling beneath the surface of the Lieutenant's normally pleasant demeanor. Something about tonight had bothered him enough to get him flustered, and in the admittedly brief amount of time that he'd known the Lieutenant, he'd never seen the man get worked up about anything.

_It certainly has been an interesting night…_ he thought to himself.

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow…" Alice winced with each step.

Liara turned and winced in sympathy. "Are you alright, Shepard?"

"Yeah, just…" Alice said, bending over and removing her shoes, eliciting a small gasp each time. "There. _Much_ better. I haven't worn heels in ages, and I wasn't expecting I'd have to fight and _then_ run away from the cops in them tonight…"

"Yes, that was the last thing I was expecting from tonight, as well…" Liara nodded. "This certainly has been an interesting night."

"Interesting?" Alice smirked. "Downgraded from 'wonderful' then, is it?"

Liara's eyes widened. "No! I mean, this _was_ a wonderful night! _Is_! _Is_ a wonderful—"

Alice laughed at Liara's stuttering. "Relax, Liara. I'm just sassing you."

Liara let out a frustrated sigh. "One would think that after so many weeks I would have learned when you were doing that. Or would have at least have learned how not to make such a fool of myself around you…"

Alice lowered her eyes. _I know the feeling…_ she thought to herself.

"You're not… making a fool of yourself, Liara," Alice offered, giving her a warm smile. "I've had a wonderful time tonight, too."

Liara returned the smile, shifting around slightly as though the words had sent a tingling sensation all throughout her body.

Alice looked down at her bare feet as they walked. They made a soft patter against the pavement of the walkway, and for a while it was the only sound being made between the two of them. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear waves crashing against the shore. The sound brought back memories of her time on Earth, when she would go to the beach on nights after a particularly trying day and clear her head. Logistically speaking, she knew that the sound also meant that they were getting farther and farther away from the _Normandy, _perhaps a subconscious effort on her part to try to make the night last as long as possible. She let out a soft sigh. She knew, though, somewhere in the back of her mind, that no matter how small she made her steps or how winding a path she chose, the night would eventually come to an end.

_And tomorrow…_

"Do you… wish to talk about what happened earlier tonight?" Liara spoke softly, as though not wishing to disturb the silence hanging in the air.

"You mean about how I punched out some guy 'cause he called you a name and wound up starting a bar-clearing brawl that cut our night short?"

"I… in all fairness, had I not used my biotics on the man attacking you and sent him out the window, the fight _may_ not have gotten so out of hand…"

Alice roared with laughter as she remembered the ridiculous sight of the man flopping end over end as he sailed through the club. "You know…" she said, smiling broadly. "I think you may be _right_! That whole fight _was_ your fault! _That's_ what I'll tell the cops if they catch up to us!"

"You wouldn't… wait…" Liara narrowed her eyes. "This is… sass, right? You are sassing me again?"

"You're a fast learner," Alice chuckled, giving Liara a playful nudge.

Liara smiled. "I meant… what happened between _us_," she corrected, "earlier tonight."

Alice swallowed hard. Liara, as long as Alice had known her, had always been direct. It was one of the things she found most endearing about her, that she had no filter when she spoke. No filter meant no subtext, no need to second-guess what her intentions were, they were all right there readily apparent in everything she said. Sometimes Liara's lack of social graces caused her a fair amount of embarrassment, something that Alice took endless amusement in.

At the moment, though, that directness was making Alice very nervous. As though talking about what 'happened' between them tonight would somehow make it more real. Or less real… Maybe, upon closer inspection, it would turn out to have been absolutely nothing at all, that in the asari culture, such seemingly intimate dancing was considered commonplace. Alice didn't know if that would make things better or worse.

"Liara… I…" she stopped suddenly, ears perking up. "Did you hear that?"

"Shepard…" Liara said, shaking her head with a look of mild frustration. "I get the feeling that you may be trying to av—"

Alice placed a finger on Liara's lips to silence her, narrowing her eyes in concentration. It had been there, somewhere between sound of their footsteps and the waves and the…

Then she heard it. "…ck down near the beach cliffs." A static-filled voice, barely rising above the ambient noise of their surroundings, came forth.

_There!_

Quickly and quietly, Alice padded down the path in the direction of the voice and leaned against the wall, peering around the corner ever so slightly. Her heart sank as the more immediate threat of getting arrested overshadowed her fear of self-examination.

"Yeah, heard some laughter down in that direction, we'll check it out," one of the men spoke into his comm unit. He gave a jerk of his head in the direction that Alice and Liara had just passed and began to walk towards her.

Alice spun around and hurried toward Liara, grabbing her by the arm. "Come on," she whispered fiercely, pulling her along. They rushed down to the end of the block, the sidewalk coming to an abrupt halt at a railing. The ocean stretched out before them, several dozen feet below.

_Damnit…_

A winding, paved path split and stretched out in either direction. Wishing she had more time to appreciate the view, Alice closed her eyes and let instinct pick her next move.

_Left!_

As they moved quickly along the path, Alice checked over her shoulder repeatedly to see if the police had caught up to them. She spotted an alley leading away from the path twenty meters or so ahead and trotted towards it, Liara in tow. As she approached, she slowed her pace, turning around and backpedaling, wondering if the police were still heading towards…

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she saw the two men step into view. Stifling a gasp, she yanked Liara into the alley. Turning, her heart sank as she saw that it was not an alleyway as she hoped. It was just an alcove, coming to a dead-end a mere ten feet from the path.

_Shit…_

Sliding against the wall, she peered around the corner, hoping against hope that her instincts had led her _away_ from the direction the police would choose. It seemed that hope had abandoned her, because both officers were meandering their way down the path towards her ill-chosen hiding spot. The one on the right had his omni-tool's flashlight lit up, sending a broad beam of light in her direction. Gasping, she quickly pulled back from the corner and smacked the side of her head against the corner. Wincing at the pain, she turned around and slumped back against the wall. In the process, her shoes dropped from her hand. They hit the ground and created a far louder clatter than she thought they would have. Closing her eyes, she sighed, wondering for a moment if she was going to be able to do _anything_ right tonight.

"Well… I suppose you could still try to tell them it was _my_ fault," Liara offered, smiling.

Alice buried her face in her hands and laughed as quietly as she could manage, shaking her head at Liara, at herself, at the whole damned night. She opened her eyes and looked across at the wall opposite her, where Liara stood. She gazed into those blue eyes and felt the now-familiar sensation of the universe growing dim, of some otherworldly light emanating from those orbs. Liara smiled softly, and for a moment, all Alice wanted to do was cross the small gap between them and press her lips against Liara's, to feel their bodies pressed together just one more time. If this night was going to end, if the two of them were going to get arrested, she wanted to at least enjoy the last few seconds of it. Besides, maybe the sheer sight of it…

She stiffened slightly, eyes going wide as another 'trick' that she'd used to get out of trouble in the past – _once _in the past – entered her mind. Then a great pain settled in her chest, a sudden torrent of conflicting emotions welling up inside of her. She'd only performed this trick once before because – despite its success at allowing her and her companion to escape the police – the situation wound up becoming far more complicated because of it. She looked up at Liara once more.

"You don't feel like getting arrested tonight, do you?" she whispered, already knowing the answer.

"I never imagined much of _anything_ that happened tonight would happen, but I suppose no, I do not wish tonight to end like _that_…"

Alice nodded, relieved and afraid that she'd gotten the response she was expecting. Letting out a sigh, she reached up and unpinned her hair. She dragged her fingers through it, unraveling any tangles. "Do you trust me?"

"What?" Liara asked, eyes following Alice's hands.

"Do you trust me?" she repeated, shaking her head to give mane a more tousled look.

"I… yes, of course, Shepard," Liara nodded, concern showing in her eyes.

Alice closed her eyes and tried to recall every detail about the last glimpse of the police that she'd had. By their distance and pace, she estimated that she'd have less than ten seconds before they were discovered. That didn't leave much time for hesitation, despite everything that she was feeling at the moment. Doubt and fear and anxiety and excitement swirled inside of her, causing her heart to race in a thousand different directions at once.

_Eight seconds…_

"Then I'm sorry about this…" Alice whispered.

_Five seconds…_

With one final breath to cinch up her determination, Alice pushed off the wall and stepped towards Liara.

* * *

"The other teams haven't found anything in the city. Check down near the beach cliffs," the voice crackled over his radio.

Officer Jarrin tapped his comm unit to respond. "Yeah, we heard some voices down in that direction. We'll check it out." He jerked his head in the direction that would lead them to the cliff-side path and began walking. He called his omni-tool to life and activated the flashlight function, keeping it pointed low to the ground ahead of him. The people who lived in this area of the city paid through the nose to enjoy their views of the ocean, and they could afford to make his life a living hell if he woke them up in the middle of the night with a stray light while chasing some damned barflies through their neighborhood.

He stopped at the T-junction where the path he was on dead-ended and peered over the edge, feeling his stomach churn as he heard the waves crashing against the cliff far, far below.

"Thinking about retiring out here, Jarrin?" the other officer asked as he walked up to the railing and followed suit, looking out over the water. "Nice view, safe neighborhood…"

"High rent, spoiled, egotistical neighbors, and a death trap just outside your front door. No thanks!" he barked, shaking his head. He pulled back from the railing and sent his light down in each direction of the path.

"Whoah, keep your voice down!" the other officer beckoned. "These guys can ruin your career if they don't get their beauty sleep…"

"My point exactly," Jarrin droned. "C'mon, let's check down this way," he said, jerking his head down the path to the left.

They walked in silence, maintaining a brisk pace due to the lack of obvious hiding places. Thirty feet or so ahead, there appeared to be an alcove, and no sooner had Jarrin brought his lamp up to get a better view than he heard a noise that he could have sworn came from that alcove.

"You hear that?" the other officer asked, drawing his stun-pistol.

Jarrin nodded, pulling out his sidearm and readying it. They trotted the last remaining feet to the alcove and sidestepped into the entryway, shining the light on the intruders.

"Hands where I can—whoah…"

* * *

Alice pushed herself off the wall and moved forward, hands trembling, her heart pounding in her ears so loudly that she could barely hear Liara's whisper.

"Shepard, wha—"

Alice reached out with a shaky hand, wrapping it behind Liara's head, tilting it ever so slightly to the side. She willed her other hand to the top of Liara's dress and pulled down the high neckline.

Liara shivered slightly at Alice's touch, eyes going wide. Her breathing became shallow. Alice paused at the sight of the muscles in Liara's neck twitching as she gasped for breath. The original 'trick' involved a passionately theatrical kiss – more of a show – to distract any onlookers, and despite her brief fantasy of doing exactly that mere moments earlier, the memories of the aftereffects from the other kiss – which had effectively ruined a friendship – led her to Plan B. Unfortunately, the hastily constructed Plan B involved her dramatically nuzzling Liara's neck as the distraction. The folly of that change in plans had completely escaped her until she had the exposed flesh presented before her.

The power of the neck, so vulnerable, so intimate… She inhaled the scent of Liara's skin, the delicate aroma sending a tremor throughout her entire body. It looked so soft, so tender… She leaned forward, forgetting all sense of her surroundings and brushed her lips against the smooth blue skin.

Liara gasped, wrapping her arms around Alice and melting into the wall. Alice felt compelled to taste Liara's skin, the sensation of it against her lips suddenly seeming insufficient. Her tongue snaked out of her mouth and she ran it up along the underside of Liara's jawline. She felt Liara tremble, struggling to catch her breath. Alice couldn't suppress a smile at the effect her ministrations were having. She gently ran her nose along the curve of Liara's neckline, inhaling deeply of that intoxicating floral aroma. She grinned when she realized she could feel Liara's heightened pulse against her lips. Suddenly she was struck with the urge to sink her teeth into Liara's flesh.

She indulged in the fancy, biting down ever so gently on the skin. Grasping a bit of flesh in her mouth, she slowly pulled her head back, relishing in the sensation the skin made as it slid between her teeth. Her lips made a small 'pop' when the flesh finally left her mouth. Liara let out a small whimper, causing a wicked grin to spread across Alice's face. Her lips hovered just above Liara's skin, and she blew out against the moist area of the neck where her tongue had performed its dance. The rapid change in temperature brought another convulsion from Liara, and she wrapped her arms tighter around Alice, whose grin only widened.

In some dark, neglected part of her currently feral mind, a thought needled her psyche, interrupting her feast, reminding her why she was here. She blinked away the haze that had formed in her eyes and for the first time noticed the bright light that was shining on the two of them.

_Shit…_

Panting heavily, she turned her head towards the source of the light, squinting angrily at its brilliance.

_They're not leaving… Get it together, Alice_, she commanded herself.

She took a few shuddering breaths, having to remind herself that she still maintained the ability to speak.

* * *

"D'you mind?" the woman – the _human_ woman of the pair asked. _Growled_ might have been a better term. The huskiness of her voice, the panting, the way her dark red hair fell across her face gave her definite feral appearance, setting Jarrin back on his heels. The asari she had been _devouring_ was leaning against the wall, out of breath and utterly oblivious to their existence.

The officer next to him chuckled and gave a lecherous sneer. "Not at all, go right ahead."

_Idiot,_ Jarrin grumbled. He roughly shoved the other officer and lowered his own flashlight.

"Sorry to bother you, ladies," he offered, again shoving the lusty officer away from the spectacle.

_I get sent on fools errand to chase down some dumb kids for starting some stupid bar fight and get stuck with this idiot slack-jawed rookie who'd rather gawk at the local wildlife_, Jarrin thought to himself. _Maybe I SHOULD retire…_ He proceeded slowly down the pathway, away from the amorous ladies, glaring at the back of the head of the other officer, daring the man to prove himself even more of a fool than he already had.

* * *

Watching the officers leave, Alice could feel relief wash over her. The spell had been broken enough that she once more felt some semblance of her humanity returning to her. Unwrapping herself from Liara, she took a few steps back, tilted her head to the sky, and let out a great sigh.

_Finally, SOMETHING worked right…_

She closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths. Had she _really_ just gotten frisky with Liara just to throw off the cops? She still felt a tingling sensation in the back of her knees, and with every breath she took, she could still smell Liara's lingering scent on her mouth. She imagined that if she licked her lips in that moment she would be able to taste the remnants of her ministrations against Liara's flesh.

_Damnit, Alice, what the hell were you thinking, pulling that stunt? That could have gotten WAY out of hand, as if it didn't alre—_

Her breath caught in her throat when she felt warm breath and a soft pair of lips brush against her neck. Liara's hands snaked their way around her body, leaving trails of electricity along her skin in their wake. Alice stumbled backward with a gasp, thudding against the wall behind her. She felt Liara's warm tongue press up against her throat, slowly inching towards her jawline. The sensation brought forth a whimpering cry from somewhere deep in her chest.

_Oh god…_

Her eyelids fluttered as Liara breathed heavily against her neck. Her hand – trembling beyond her control – crept up Liara's the back of Liara's neck, fingertips playing with the surprisingly tender folds of skin there. Liara shuddered against Alice and brought her own hand up to intertwine her fingers with Alice's hair.

Alice felt her knees about to give way and wrapped her arms tightly around Liara to keep herself from collapsing. Feeling their bodies pressed together, the sensation of Liara's lips against her skin, Alice choked out another cry as the toes of her bare feet began to curl. If she felt _this_ good with her clothes on…

_NO!_

Her eyes shot open. This wasn't right. Not like this… It was a false pretense… the heat of the moment… this wasn't how it was supposed to… Not like this.

"L-Liara… wait…" she managed to whisper through unsteady breaths.

Liara slowly pulled away from Alice, gazing at her with hungry eyes that made Alice's knees nearly buckle.

"I…" Alice tried to speak, only managing another whimper. Steeling herself, she swallowed hard and tried again. "I was… that… I just…"

Liara brought a hand up and gently caressed Alice's cheek. Alice couldn't help but turn her face into Liara's fingertips, relishing in the touch. She was suddenly struck with the desire to slide one of those gloved fingers into her mouth. Recognizing the slippery slope she was on, she shook her head, pulling Liara's hand away.

"That was… that was just to get the cops off our backs," she panted. Even as the words left her mouth she knew they weren't altogether true.

Had the light been better, Alice might have been able to swear that Liara had turned pale. The look on her face spoke volumes. She was mortified.

"Oh Goddess… I…" she stammered, shaking her head and slowly backing away. "I'm sorry! I… I thought… Oh I don't know what I was thinking…"

Alice slumped heavily against the wall, suddenly feeling very weak as she watched Liara's reaction.

Liara continued her nervous rambling. "I simply thought that… with… I mean, the dance earlier was… so… but perhaps I misunder... and then you went and… oh Goddess and your lips felt so…" she closed her eyes, running a hand along her neck in remembrance.

Somewhere deep inside of her, Alice felt a rumbling, a primal growl urging her forward. She was suddenly in motion again, her body propelling itself off of the wall. She strode purposefully towards Liara, who turned and looked at her with embarrassment still rimming her eyes. Alice's hands shot out to pull Liara's face towards hers. Liara quietly gasped Alice hungrily pressed her lips against Liara's mouth. The pair stumbled backward, Alice's ferocity carrying through until they thumped against the wall.

Liara tenderly brought up a hand to Alice's face, breaking the kiss. Gasping, her eyes darted to the side. "Did the police return?" she whispered.

"No…" Alice purred. "This is for me."


	6. Chapter 6

Nothing about the rest of the night could have prepared Alice for the sensation of Liara returning her kiss. She felt an overwhelming animalistic urge inside of her, a hunger, beckoning her to devour those lips. Alice growled softly as she pressed her mouth against Liara's. She slid the tip of her tongue out, teasingly running it along Liara's teeth, who gently opened her mouth, cooing in response. Alice felt the gentle caress of Liara's breath against her face. She bared her teeth, feeling very primal in that moment, wanting nothing more in the universe than to lose herself in those perfect blue lips.

Her hands slid down Liara's body, relishing in each tender, glorious curve. She grasped Liara around the waist, pulling them closer together, eliciting a gasp from Liara. Alice leaned in and gently bit down on Liara's bottom lip. Liara moaned softly as Alice pulled back, letting the lip slide from her teeth.

"Mmm…" Liara murmured.

"Mmm…?" Alice returned the sound with an amused grin. She was panting heavily, face hovering inches away from Liara's.

"Mm… more…" the word was barely louder than a breath against her face, but it rang loudly in Alice's ears, shattering her trance. She faltered, eyes going blank as she struggled to process it. The idea should have made sense, it was so simple. More. More of this, more of everything. More kissing, more touching, more lips and tongues, more caressing and moaning. Clothes stripped away, naked bodies pressed together – would she find tiny blue freckles elsewhere on Liara's bare skin? Legs intertwines, hips moving in sync – where else would Liara be sensitive?

More… It should have been simple, obvious. But then she remembered.

_More…_

She wanted more.

_More… than this. More than one night…_

Liara's eyelids fluttered open at Alice's hesitation. Alice gazed into Liara's blue eyes, seeing the hunger there, _her_ hunger reflected back at her. She so desperately wanted it to be that easy.

_Just… for tonight… No. More… I want… more than just tonight._

Liara blinked away the haze from her own eyes, looking confusedly at Alice.

_I want tomorrow… and I can't do tomorrow…_

Alice sighed and slowly stepped away from Liara, moving out of the alcove, feeling her strength quickly leaving her. Liara, still panting from Alice's ministrations, stared mutely into the darkness at the sudden change in Alice's behavior.

Alice reached the railing overlooking the cliff and sat down heavily. She slid her legs underneath the guard rail to dangle them over the edge and hugged the crossbeam to her chest.

Liara turned her head towards Alice. "Is… did I—"

"No," Alice shook her head. "You… were… you _are…_ amazing…"

"Does what I said… mean something different to hum—"

"No!" Alice laughed somberly. "No… I… I _want_ more… I _really_ want more…"

"Then…" Liara moved out of the alcove. "I do not unders—"

"I mean I want…" Alice turned around, angrily gesturing at the dark corner of the alcove. "I want more than _that_, than what I wanted to do to you, what I _was_ doing to you just then."

Liara slowly made her way beside Alice, looking down at her.

Alice sighed before continuing, unable to meet Liara's gaze. "I want more than one night, and that's… I've done this too many times to think that what we were doing was going anywhere other than that."

Liara remained mercifully silent, allowing Alice to sort out her own words in her own time.

Alice shook her head, leaning heavily against the railing. "As much as I want _that_, I want _tomorrow_ more. And I can't _have_ tomorrow…"

Liara furrowed her brow. "Why not?"

"Because tomorrow…" she looked up into Liara's eyes. "Tomorrow I'm Commander Shepard again. Tomorrow I'm chasing down Saren, I'm the first human Spectre, and I'm in command of a crew of fifty – I'm in command of _you_! And it doesn't _work_ that way."

"What doesn't work that way?"

"That! This! Us! _Fuck_!" Alice let out a frustrated sigh, burying her face in her hands. "I was… I was so conflicted about tonight, about being _not me_ for a night, or at least not _that_ _part_ of me for a night… And then I got here and everyone was so happy to see me, and the alcohol and the music and the dancing… and you… and being so close to you, dancing with you, and your beautiful dress and your… God, that perfume…" Alice raised her head and looked at Liara. "If nothing else, I have_ got_ to know what that perfume is."

Liara shook her head. "I… do not have any perfume."

"Oh God!" Alice groaned. She flopped backward onto the ground, hiding her face in her hands once more. "That makes it worse! That means it was _you_ that…" Alice drifted off, the torrent thoughts coming too fast for her to bother trying to put them to words. She hated them, those errant thoughts. She wished she could ignore them all, that she could just bury her face into Liara's neck once more, bury her head in the field of flowers that she inhaled, bury everything, bury tonight. No, not bury tonight, just bury her feelings like she'd been trying to do for weeks. She thought she'd been successful at it, that she'd managed to fool herself and everyone else into thinking that there was nothing between her and Liara. And she had been successful. Save for one slip up in front of Ashley, she'd been able to pretend like everything was normal. Just one slip up, after which Ashley had been so aggravatingly _helpful_ in trying to get her and Liara together that sometimes she just wanted to punch the soldier in the face.

The soldier. Ash was a _soldier_, for crying out loud, what the hell was she doing encouraging this? Encouraging her to break regulations and 'fraternize' – God she hated that word – with Liara, with someone under her command. It's not as though tonight was the first time Ash had tried to play matchmaker, either. Alice let out a sigh, wondering if things could ever just be _easy_ for once.

"Regulations…" she muttered.

Liara took a seat close to her. Close, but mercifully far enough away so that Alice didn't immediately feel a compulsion to pounce on Liara and drag her back into darkness and resume where they'd left off in the alcove moments ago. Was it just moments ago?

Alice shook her head. At that point it, given the 180 she had just pulled, it felt so far away, so long ago, like a lifetime had passed since she kissed Liara. She was sure, though, regardless of how much time had passed that if she licked her lips right then she'd still be able to taste the echoes of Liara's mouth on her own, and then – distance or not – she'd find herself on top of Liara once again, bodies pressed together, and she couldn't have that…

She lifted her head an inch or so off the ground and let it drop so that it thudded dully against the ground, hoping the impact would somehow drive those thoughts from her mind.

"Regulations…" she whispered again, lifting her head and dropping it repeatedly.

"What about regulations?" Liara asked.

Alice uncovered her face and rolled her head to the side, causing Liara to appear sideways in her eyes. The blackness of the night sky did little to mask Liara's easy, straight-forward beauty. In the darkness, the color of her blue skin was muted, and the rest of her facial features made her look so human, tiny blue freckles, thin black 'eyebrows' – how the hell did the asari wind up with such human faces? Alice's eyes drifted to Liara's crest – the defining feature of the asari – that strange, wonderful set of tendrils that swept gracefully from the top of her forehead to the back of her skull, flipping up playfully at the end. Her fingers tingled as she recalled running them up the back of Liara's neck to the base of that crest, how satisfying it had been to feel Liara tremble at her touch. So alien, so familiar, so beautiful.

"Shepard?" Liara asked, dragging Alice back to reality.

Alice's eyes went wide, wondering how long she had been staring at Liara like some awestruck little girl. Obviously banging her head against the ground hadn't been able to drive those thoughts from her mind. She broke eye contact and heaved her body off the ground, flopping heavily against the railing to let her head hang over the edge once more.

"Regulations…" Alice sighed, exhaling the word once more.

"Yes, you said—"

"There are regulations, Liara. The Alliance has regulations against you and me… against this… against tomorrow. I can't… A commanding officer can't become involved _romantically_ with their crew."

Liara nodded solemnly. "What would happen?"

"Well," Alice shrugged. "Officially speaking, I'm fairly certain that the officer and the crewmate could be discharged, at the very least they'd each get reassigned…"

"I am not part of the Alliance military, though," Liara pointed out.

Despite herself, Alice gave a snort of amusement. "Don't try to weasel out of this, Liara. Even if you're not Alliance, you're still under my command," she smirked.

"Could the Alliance even take action against you at this point? You are a Spectre, answerable first to the Council. Do they have similar regulations?"

"I… don't know," Alice shook her head. "But that doesn't matter, Liara, they're there for a _reason_. I mean, for starters, it could be construed as favoritism, it—"

"Do you have a 'favorite' crewmate?"

The question caught Alice off guard. In retrospect, she couldn't think of a reason why. Liara had always been inquisitive and often spoke without a filter, a fact which had quickly endeared her to Alice, particularly when Liara's lack of social graces caused her embarrassment. The question, like so many others, hadn't been asked out of jealousy or frustration. There was no expected answer. There was only sheer curiosity.

"I uh… I don't know. I try not to think like that. I mean, I _like_ all of my crew for different reasons. Kaidan is such a great officer, and he's so considerate and understanding that I know he's got a great career ahead of him. Ash is an amazing soldier, this wonderful blend of balls and discipline, and given all the crap that the Alliance has heaped onto her family it's a wonder that she even wants to serve her people, but try getting her to give it up and you'll be running into a brick wall. Garrus is so hell-bent on doing good, so determined to set the universe right that he sometimes frustrates himself when he finds out that he can't change the stars, not that he'd let that stop him. Wrex has been so many places and done so many things in his life that it's nearly impossible to fathom, and despite all his bitching I can tell that he's still got hope for his people. Tali is so unbelievably brilliant and brave to be out in the galaxy on her own at such a young age, and watching her handle it so well is just incredible. And you…" she hesitated, knowing and fearing what she wanted to say. She turned to Liara, mouth fighting to form the words she desperately wanted to hold back. She was what? So unlike anyone she had ever met before? A breath of fresh, calming, free air in a life that was otherwise so chronically regimented that she sometimes felt like screaming? That she _was_ her favorite? Alice sighed, shaking her head.

Liara averted her gaze, nodding slowly. "Shepard, I—"

"Liara, I had my tongue in your mouth a few minutes ago, I think we can dispense with the formalities for a little while…" Alice said, distractedly rubbing her temples.

Liara recoiled slightly as she turned to Alice. "Shortly after we met, you specifically asked me to _not_ refer to you by your first name…"

"Do you remember why?"

"You said…" Liara lowered her eyes. "…that a Commander has to be respected, that their orders have to be seen as coming from someone in a position of authority, and that the informality of being of a first-name basis with their crew might jeopardize that."

Alice nodded solemnly.

"Do you still believe that?"

Alice glanced at Liara out of the corner of her eyes. "What do you mean? Of course—"

"I mean that you referred to Chief Williams and Lieutenant Alenko by their first names just now. You also listed off personal traits of the rest of your crew, as well as how they made you personally feel, save for me, I suppose. Do you feel your authority with any of them, with any of _us_ has been compromised?"

_Back to this, again_… Alice thought to herself, recalling the conversation she'd had earlier in the night with Dr. Chakwas, about proving herself wrong about needing to maintain the air of authority at all times. She had been right then, just as Liara was right now. Somehow the thought didn't make her feel any better.

"I don't know…"

Liara continued. "I have made my feelings for you clear…"

"And I think I've made mine pretty clear," Alice replied, a small smile making its way onto her face as she recalled the taste on her lips.

"Have you, though?"

_That_ shocked Alice. It was the closest she'd ever heard Liara come to anger or indignation. Maybe it was the alcohol or the comedown from the intensity earlier, or Alice's own continued evasive tactics around dealing with the truth. Or perhaps, Alice though, it was just her perception of the words based on her guilt from being so damned evasive.

Liara furrowed her brow, staring down into the darkness. "I have been clear about my feelings for you, and for your part you intimated that you felt that there was something between us as well. For a time simply knowing that was enough. We continued to speak in between missions, continued to learn more about each other, and… take things slowly, as you suggested. And then tonight happened, and I thought that… well, I am unsure _what_ it was that I thought. It may have been my imagination, but you seemed suddenly so certain about what you wanted and I found myself feeling… _relieved_.

"I realized that not knowing for certain how you felt about me was consuming my every thought. When you kissed me I felt such contentment that I had not felt in a long time. That was of course beyond the sheer pleasure of the kiss… And then you stopped and told me why it cannot continue – for what sound like such perfectly legitimate reasons – and I am unable to think of anything to say in response which does not sound so horribly self-serving… But I cannot help but think that perhaps your feelings for me are not as strong as I had imagined…"

"Liara…" Alice said, scooting herself closer, face drawing up in a worried expression. "This isn't… If I thought less of you, if I _cared_ less for you I would have done one of two things. One, the moment you told me that you felt something between us I would have told you to get over it, that nothing would or could ever happen. Barring that, I'd be back there in that alcove with my hand up your dress right now because I wouldn't have given a damn about tomorrow. But I'm _not_ doing either of those things because I _do_ care about you, you _are_ important to me, you _are_ my favorite, and all that scares the hell out of me." A tremor found its way into her voice. The rush of words was so relieving – speaking without thought, without measure – but it was also terribly draining being so exposed like that. She felt her heart racing again, her face grew warm, but she continued, the words tumbling out of her even faster than before.

"Being a soldier is the most important thing I've done in my life, and I _know_ that I've said that I hate how constrained it makes me feel, how regimented and restricted and controlled everything is, and I do feel that way, but it's also gotten me to this point, it's gotten me here. And now I'm a Spectre, and that means I've got even more riding on me than when I was just a soldier, and I'll take the burden, _gladly_ so, because I know I'm making a difference on an even larger scale, but it means that sometimes I don't get to…" She had to stop, the trembling in her throat becoming too much for her to speak. She felt tears well up in the corner of her eyes.

Liara slid closer to Alice and brought a hand to her cheek. She spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Alice…"

It was almost too much for Alice, the touch, the closeness, the sound of her own name. Not her rank, not her title, not the mantle that her last name had been adorned with through her years of service, just her name. It was Liara's gift, the ability to cut right through everything, right to her core that had endeared her to Alice in the first place. Sometimes it felt as though she was the only one who could see her – not her rank, not her title, just her. And the idea that she would have to give that up, that she would have to miss out on that in order to do what she needed to do, in order to be who she needed to be caused an immense pressure in her chest, like an incredible weight was pressing down upon her, suffocating her. She closed her eyes, blinking away the tears that were threatening to engulf her vision, cutting her off from Liara's blue eyes. It was almost too much to bear.

"Alice," Liara continued. "I am sorry… I did not mean to cause you to…"

"No…" Alice whispered, shaking her head, covering Liara's hand with her own. She wasn't about to let Liara shoulder the blame for this. She couldn't. This was her decision, her burden, her fault.

"Alice, if you wish to not pursue anything, I will understand. Know I am with you until the end regardless."

Alice felt as though the simple statement should have broken her, that the admission would have caused the weight of her own feelings to collapse on top of her. Instead she felt a strange calm – a sense of serenity. Maybe it was the relief of no longer having to wonder. Or no longer struggling against it and simply embracing the understanding that nothing would ever happen between them. Or maybe it was that Liara had seemed so at peace with the thought – not that she believed for a moment that Liara would suddenly break down into tears. Perhaps, though, it was the knowledge that even without taking things 'further', Liara would be there with her all the same. A welcome thought indeed.

The pressure from her chest gone, relief washed over her. She felt her shoulders relax, and for the first time in quite a while, Alice noticed the sound of the waves crashing below. It was such a comforting, familiar sound, reminding her of home. She hadn't grown up on the beach, nor did she live terribly close to it, but there were many nights when she would sneak off by herself to escape everything else in her life and just sit alone for hours listening to the sound of the waves breaking against the sand. She took a deep breath, listening to the sound the air made as it entered her own lungs. She let it out just as another wave crashed against the beach below. She continued to inhale as the water regressed, exhaling when the wave returned, further calming her.

She remembered this ritual from her youth. Finding the rhythm of the natural world in the ocean and aligning it with her own breathing brought her a sense of tranquility that was so often missing from her life in her chaotic teenage years. The sound of her own breathing echoing that of the waves somehow aligned her, brought her peace. Funny how after so many years spent on a spaceship, hardly ever setting foot on an actual planet – let alone a beach – she managed to fall right back into the rhythm. Just as with the rituals of the club and the dancing, she had simply instinctually known what to do.

"Alice…" Liara's voice seemed to echo in her mind. She gasped and she opened her eyes. She hadn't realized how long she had simply sat there with her eyes closed, but there was Liara, hand gently pressed against Alice's cheek, gazing at her patiently, without expectation.

"Sorry, what?" Alice asked, smiling weakly, more than a little embarrassed that she had allowed herself to get so lost in the sound of her own breathing.

Liara's brow furrowed slightly. With a slight shake of her head, she lowered her hand from Alice's face. "I did not say anything."

As Liara pulled away, Alice quickly reached out and grabbed for Liara's wrist. She suddenly remembered why she loved going to the beach and breathing with the waves. She would sit there, allowing the vastness of the ocean and the sky above to turn all of the errant thoughts in her mind into tiny grains of sand, easily exhaled with the crashing waves, simply washed away with the tide. Free of all outside influences, with a clear mind she could finally understand what it was that _she_ wanted, what it was that _she_ wanted.

And when she had done it this time, when her mind was freed from all thoughts of regulations and fear and tomorrow, she had heard Liara, speaking her name. Not her title, not her rank, just her name. And her body reacted accordingly. She looked up to see Liara still gazing at her with those blue eyes that she felt she could lose herself in. Or maybe… maybe it wasn't that she could lose herself in them. Maybe she could just lose everything else and just _be_ in them.

Alice leaned forward, inching her face towards Liara's. Her movement was slow, not out of fear or hesitation, simply absent any haste or overpowering sense of hunger that had driven her before.

Liara's eyes followed Alice's lips as they moved towards her. They gently closed their eyes as Alice pressed their lips together. The softness and chastity of the kiss caused every hair on Alice's body to tingle and stand on end. She could feel her bare toes curl. Her heart beat just a little bit faster. Breaking the kiss, she felt a sharp exhalation of air from Liara against her face. It was pleasing to know the kiss had the same effect on her.

Alice looked once more at Liara, who asked a question with her eyes.

_What does this mean?_

"I don't know…" Alice gently shook her head. "I mean, I'm not sure how it's going to work or even if it will work, but… I want this… I want _you._ I want _us_." She turned to face Liara, suddenly intent on getting the words out right. "You have been everything that I never realized that I wanted in my life, and it's because you're _you_. Not because you're trying to be something you're not, you just _are._ You're…

"I know what I said before about the regulations being there for a reason, and I don't disagree with it, but… I'm not going to back away from you just because someone told me that things would get difficult. You're too important to me." She sighed at the relief of finally having put the feeling into words. Smiling, she tenderly reached up and brushed her fingertips against Liara's cheek.

A hint of a smile turned up the corners of Liara's lips. "I will not let it interfere with—"

Alice shook her head. "I trust you, Liara," she said, tracing her fingertips down Liara's neck and shoulder, down her arm to interlace her fingers with Liara's gloved hand.

Liara smiled, both at the touch and the admission. "That means a great deal to me," she nodded slightly. "I understand it will not be easy…"

That brought a smirk to Alice's face, causing Liara to furrow her brow in confusion. Alice looked her straight in the eye. "Easy's for chumps," she joked, echoing a certain bartender's words of wisdom. She leaned in and softly kissing Liara once more. Breaking the kiss, she pressed her forehead to Liara's, letting out a contented sigh.

"Well, since I'm no longer planning on mauling you in a dark corner tonight, I guess we should probably head in, huh?"

Liara nodded, smiling slightly. The pair pulled themselves up and began to make their way down the clifftop path, walking side-by-side in comfortable silence, content to enjoy the remaining moments they had of the night, knowing what tomorrow offered. Alice let her hand hang by her side, sneaking out a finger to snag Liara's hand as it passed hers. She intertwined their fingers and gave a gentle squeeze, smiling as she did so.

* * *

As the _Normandy_ came into view, Alice muttered a curse.

Liara let Alice's hand drop in shock. "What is it?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"I left my shoes back by the beach…" she pouted.

"Oh… would you like to—"

Alice shook her head. "Nah, we're already here, and I don't feel like walking all the way back there again."

"I could go and—"

"No," Alice chuckled, smiling broadly. "Thanks for the chivalry, but I'll be fine without them." She took a step closer to Liara, discreetly clasping her hand. She lowered her voice despite the absence of any eavesdroppers. "Listen, though… I know we're planning on taking things slowly, which I'm happy to do, but for the time being…"

Liara nodded, as though expecting what was to come next. "You wish to keep our relationship 'under wraps' as you humans put it…"

Alice's face scrunched up, as though even hearing the words left a bad taste in her mouth. "I'm not afraid of it, I don't want to _hide _it, I just… I don't know how the crew will… I mean… I'm sure some of them will be fine with it. I just don't want to cause any bad blood, you know?"

Liara nodded in agreement. "Based on her actions tonight, I imagine Chief Williams at least might be 'fine with it.'"

Alice's eyes went wide. "Ash? Ah… You mean—"

"I do not think she was as subtle as she thought she was," Liara grinned sheepishly. "I may not know much about human interactions, but it seemed to be clear that she had an interest in seeing you and I together."

Alice slapped a hand to her face, shaking her head and sighing. "Oh… I don't think Ash thought she was being subtle at ALL."

Liara reached up and gently pulled Alice's hand away from her face, smiling softly. "I am happy to take things slowly and see how they develop, Shepard."

Alice smiled and leaned in, gently brushing her lips against Liara's. "You know," she whispered, grinning. "We're not back at the ship_ quite_ yet… You can still call me 'Alice,' if you want."

Liara smiled, pressing her lips briefly but firmly against Alice's. She nodded. "I suppose I should enjoy it while it lasts… _Alice_."

Alice's smile widened, and she gently pushed Liara around the corner, just out of the line of sight of the ship, in the unlikely event that Joker or someone else was looking out a viewport at that very moment. Pressing Liara up against the wall, she kissed her more deeply, teasingly snaking her tongue past Liara's lips, relishing in the sensation, the taste of Liara's mouth against hers.

When the kiss ended, Liara quietly gasped for air.

"We could just stay out here for the rest of the night," Alice joked, grinning a lopsided grin as she nuzzled Liara's neck, whispering the words in a husky bedroom voice. "Say we got arrested."

Liara shivered softly, fingers idly tracing up and down Alice's hip. "You make a… compelling argument. But…"

Alice nodded. "I know." She leaned in and kissed Liara once more, finally pulling away despite a lingering desire to be a bad girl for a little while longer. "Fair warning, though… I may be sneaking kisses from you now and then while we're on the ship," she said, giving a wink.

"Well, thank you for the warning. I will be sure to keep on the lookout for that," Liara teased.

"Is that sass?" Alice smirked, gently pinching Liara's waist. "Are you sassing me, T'Soni?"

Liara pursed her lips, masking her grin with narrowed eyes. "I would not _dream_ of such a thing…"

Alice narrowed her eyes slightly and gave Liara's hand a gentle tug, pulling her off the wall and into a tight hug. Liara's arms wrapped around her and for several moments they just stood there, gently swaying back and forth in their embrace. It felt right; she felt comfortable and stable being held like that. She briefly wondered if she was using this, using Liara, as an escape, a way to pretend that bad things were not going on in the galaxy and that she didn't have a job to do. She smiled, took a deep breath and exhaled, allowing the needling thought to be washed away like a grain of sand. She knew that Liara wasn't a means of hiding herself from the universe, but rather a means of reminding herself that she didn't have to hide, that she was a complete person and not just a Commander or a Spectre. It was something that before tonight – before she had met Liara – she often forgot.

She held Liara against her for several long moments before giving a firm squeeze to signal that it was time to go. They walked side-by-side, though at a chaste distance from each other, to the _Normandy's _airlock. No sooner had the inner doors of the airlock opened than Ashley's voice burst forth.

"And _there_ they are!" the Gunnery Chief practically bellowed, grinning broadly. She was leaning against the bulkhead opposite the entrance, still in her evening attire. It appeared that she had been chatting with Joker when they arrived.

Alice felt a chill run down her spine. She stiffened slightly before remembering that Ashley had no idea what had gone on after the group had split up. She relaxed and forced a disarming smirk onto her face.

"Last ones back, huh?" Joker asked from the pilot's seat.

"Well they _should_ be," Ashley joked, "they're the ones who started the brawl to begin with! They're the ones the cops were _really_ after!"

"Heard you launched some guy out a window, Liara," Joker chuckled.

"I didn't see it, but I think _everybody_ heard that window shatter," Ashley continued. "And I _know_ everyone saw that big ol' biotic flare-up!"

"Yeah," Alice interjected with a grin. "She certainly lit up that room."

"_Man_ I wish I could have been there," Joker lamented.

"Oh," Alice scoffed, peering at her pilot out of the corner of her eye. "And what would you have done in a bar-fight, Joker?"

"Well, I certainly could have provided some excellent color-commentary. And, you know… helped celebrate your triumphant vic—"

"Wait," Ashley interrupted with a laugh, looking incredulously at Alice's still-bare feet, "what happened to your shoes, Commander?"

"Ah, you know…" Alice shrugged, gazing down at her naked toes. "How are you supposed to give the cops the slip if you can't move quietly?"

"Plus, you know, I hear a lot of cops have foot-fetishes," Joker reasoned. "Gotta be a _great_ distraction technique."

Liara gave a slight intake of breath at the mention of 'distraction technique', stiffening almost imperceptibly. Ashley looked over just as she averted her gaze with the faintest wisp of a smile on her face. Ashley fixed Alice with a bemused smirk and raised her eyebrow questioningly.

Swallowing hard under that look, Alice continued with the banter. "Yeah, well, unfortunately for you all my distraction techniques have been classified. You know, N7 and all that. You'll have to come up with your own next time we're getting chased by the cops."

"Yeah, if you ever let me off the ship…" Joker grumbled.

"Well, we'll see what the straws say next time," Alice grinned.

"So, you two off to bed, then?" Ashley asked.

Alice nearly choked on her breath before realizing that Ashley's question didn't _have_ to mean what she thought it meant. Ashley, however, caught the startled look on Alice's face and did a poor job of hiding her grin.

"I ah… I think I might stay up for a bit and try and get some work done," Alice quickly recovered.

"Sure…" Joker mumbled. "Work…"

"What about you, Ash?" Alice asked.

"Eh… I'm gonna stay up here for a bit and keep flyboy company. Plus, I don't think he's heard _nearly_ enough about how hot the women at the club were!" Ashley grinned wickedly.

"Five times so far, Ash," Joker groaned, holding up five fingers. "_Six_, if you want to count your comments about how 'ample' the Commander's cle—"

"And on that note…" Alice quickly interrupted before he could finish and get himself into trouble. "We're off to bed. _I'm_ off to bed!" she hastily corrected herself before she realized that only made it worse. "I mean… I'm sure Liara is tired, too, so—"

"Good night, skipper," Ashley said, rescuing Alice from further embarrassment.

"G'night, Commander," Joker nodded.

Alice and Liara said their goodnights and made their way down the short hallway to the CIC as Ashley and Joker argued over who owed who money based on the bet made earlier in the night.

As Alice and Liara walked down the stairs leading to the mess hall, Liara turned to Alice. "You did not _actually_ learn your… 'distraction technique' during your N7 traini—"

Alice laughed aloud, clasping a hand over her mouth when she realized that the noise was probably not appreciated, given how late it was. Looking around, she saw nobody else in the mess hall, the active crew still at their posts and the remaining crew having bunked down for the night.

"No," Alice said, smiling. "That was, uh… that one was all me."

"Hmm… I see," Liara said, smiling softly, right eye narrowing slightly in amusement. She turned to Alice, "Thank you for… everything tonight, Shepard," she said, smiling softly. "Goodnight." She turned and began making her way towards the med-bay where her quarters were located.

"Hang on," Alice said, grasping Liara's hand. Without so much as a cautionary glance around the room to check for eavesdroppers, she pulled Liara towards her, leaned in, and planted a tender kiss on her lips.

Smiling sweetly, she whispered, "Thank _you_ for everything, Liara. And… not just for tonight."

Liara returned her smile, appreciating the added meaning behind those words.

"Goodnight, Liara," Alice whispered, letting Liara's hand go. She watched Liara as she turned to make her way back to the med bay, giving a smile before she disappeared through its doors and into the back room which she had made her home. She gave a contented sigh, feeling very ready at that moment to hit the sack.

_First things first, though…_ she thought, peering out of the corner of her eye.

"You're not as slick as you think you are, Williams," Alice called out.

"I was just…" Ashley began, slowly peeking around the corner and making a grand show of examining the room. "…making sure I wasn't interrupting anything." Stepping into full view, she moved towards Alice, stopping a few feet away, trying to mask a smile. "I _didn't_ interrupt anything, did I, ma'am?"

"No…" Alice crossed her arms defiantly in front of her. "I was just saying goodnight to Liara."

"I see…" Ashley said, nodding slightly. "So you're saying that if I'd come down a few seconds, I would have seen you two…"

"_Saying_ good night…" Alice reiterated.

"Mm hmm…" Ashley pursed her lips and started at Alice for a moment. She jerked her head over her shoulder. "So how'd you know I was back there, anyway, skipper? I thought I'd gotten pretty good about sneaking around for all the times I'd stand guard whenever my sisters would 'say goodnight' to their dates on the front porch."

"I've been a sneak my whole life, Ash. You learn what to look for. What works, what _doesn't_…"

"Ah, you mean like ditching the sexy high heels so you can move more quietly?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. "I noticed T'Soni managed to keep _her _shoes on…"

Alice stood silently, the corner of her mouth turned to show how perfectly un-amused she was at Ashley's prying. That didn't stop the grin which slowly grew across the Gunnery Chief's face.

"So, skipper… what _did_ happen after you guys split off?" Ashley continued, slyly narrowing her eyes. "Anything juicy?"

"What, are you trying to be the ship's gossip along with matchmaker? Looks like I might have to give you some more—and by the way," her face grew stern. "What the hell are you doing trying to play matchmaker with me and my crew anyhow?"

"Oh come on, skipper! Inquiring minds want to know!"

"Chief…" Alice issued a warning, finding her 'Commander' voice leaking out in the process.

Ashley caught the change in tone and immediately snapped to attention. "Sorry, ma'am. Didn't mean to be disrespectful."

Alice sighed, shaking her head more at her own reaction than anything else. "Honestly, Ash, what's your game here?"

Ashley stiffened slightly and opened her mouth to speak.

Alice cut her off before she had the chance. "You're not Liara's biggest fan, and I know you're too good a soldier to think getting into a relationship with a crewmate is a good idea, so what are you playing at with all this?"

Ashley's mouth hung open for several seconds as if she were having trouble finding the words. "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

"Ash…" Alice chuckled softly. "I'm in my bare feet with my boobs half-hanging out asking you why you're trying to hook me up with one of my crew, so… now's a good a time as any, I guess."

Ashley stifled a laugh and dropped her gaze to the floor. "Um… After you kind of let it slip how you felt about T'Soni I got to thinking… I mean I'm _not_ exactly her biggest fan, and she's sure as hell not _my_ type but…" She looked up, fixing Alice with a look of concern. "Skipper you've got a _big_ load on your plate, and I trust that you can handle the heavy stuff alright, but I think even the best of us need something or someone who reminds us that we're only human. _And_ that that's okay. And if for you that comes in the form of a blue alien Prothean expert, well…"

She took a deep breath. "If she makes you feel like you can handle whatever the galaxy throws at you, then I say go for it and damn the consequences. I think you of all people deserve that, at least."

Alice sighed and hung her head, staring hard at the floor between her and the Gunnery Chief.

"Un…less I'm wrong, ma'am?" Ashley tentatively proposed.

Alice chuckled, shaking her head. "Ash… You're…" She blew out another sigh, looking Ashley in the eyes once more. A hint of a smile crossed her lips. "Thank you," she nodded.

Ashley warmly returned the smile. "Just looking out for you, ma'am."

"I appreciate it," Alice smirked. "Just make sure 'looking out for me' doesn't involve pulling a gun on my crew anymore, got it?"

"No promises, ma'am. But I'll make sure to check myself, at least when it comes to T'Soni."

Alice laughed, shaking her head at the Chief. "Fair enough, I guess."

Ashley finally relaxed, grinning while maintaining her 'at-ease' pose out of habit more than anything else. "Did you have a good night tonight, skipper?"

Alice smiled softly, recollecting the unexpected events of the strange night. She slowly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. Thanks for dragging me out."

"Good, I'm glad." Ashley deviously narrowed her eyes. "You get any action?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "_Goodnight_, Chief…"

Ashley's grin widened. "Goodnight, ma'am."

As Alice passed Ashley, she warmly patted the marine on the shoulder in thanks.

Ashley continued smiling as her Alice made her way towards her quarters. After a few moments, she turned and called out. "Commander?"

"Yeah?" Alice asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Did you at least get a goodnight kiss?"

Alice sighed and shot Ashley a pointed look. Despite herself, Alice felt the corners of her mouth slowly turn up into a grin which gave away far more than she had intended.

Ashley noticed the subtle change and beamed happily. "Good for you."

Tongue firmly planted in her cheek, Alice rolled her eyes once more before disappearing into her quarters.

* * *

Alice flopped herself down onto her bed, arms flying out wide, letting out a loud, satisfied sigh. It had been a _very _good night, she mused as she stared up at the ceiling of her quarters. Dancing and drinking with her crew – most of them anyway – socializing and just being a regular person for a night. She realized Ash had been right, sometimes you _do_ need to be reminded that you're human. Sometimes you actually need to _be_ human, to give yourself a breather from being the person you need to be in the rest of your life. And the night had certainly proven how human she was.

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so… _real_, so flawed and unsure and… _human_. The fear that she felt in combat and the insecurity she experienced before a mission were so vastly different from the emotional unease that she had felt with Liara tonight. When fear crept up her spine during combat, she had her skills and her training to rely upon to show her the next move. But with Liara there had been no clear path, no obvious next step to take.

_Although…_ she thought as she furrowed her brow, mind drifting back over the key points of the night. The most profound steps that she had taken in her relationship with Liara tonight – that first dance, the decision to pursue the relationship, even the fight and the events in the alcove – had all been initiated unconsciously on her part. She had simply _acted_ without thought. In battle there often wasn't enough time to think. When a moment to think might be the difference between life and death, she had to rely on her instincts above anything else to get her through.

A smile crossed her face. The idea that her instincts had not only kept her alive all these years as a soldier, but also gotten her to step up and admit her feelings for Liara seemed silly – and yet somehow comforting at the same time. It was nice to know that she could at least rely on her own gut feelings about things. It had gotten her this far, it just might be enough to get her farther in the future.

She smiled widely. Maybe Ash was right. Maybe Liara _was_ good for her

A soft knock came from her door. Alice heaved herself off her bed to a sitting position.

"Come in," she beckoned.

The knock repeated itself. Alice furrowed her brows and called out again, louder than before.

"Come in!"

When the knock persisted, Alice rose off her bed in a huff, wondering who would be trying to get into her room at this hour. As she approached the door, she rolled her eyes as she got an inkling of who it might be.

She pressed the switch to open the door. "Ash, I'm not giving you any more…" Her eyes went wide. "Liar—"

Liara quickly leaned in, placing her hands on either side of Alice's face and pulling them together. She pressed her lips against Alice's, flicking her tongue between their lips. Alice whimpered slightly, feeling her toes curl against the floor, a trembling in her knees. Alice brought a hand up to Liara's. She had removed her gloves. Those hands felt so incredibly warm against her skin. Liara broke the kiss, eliciting a gasp from Alice as she struggled to maintain her balance.

Liara peered into Alice's eyes with the faintest whisper of a smile on her face. "You had mentioned earlier that you may be sneaking kisses from me every so often. I merely wanted to let you know that I… may plan to do the same."

Alice gave a rather undignified giggle and watched as Liara made her way back to the med bay, sighing softly as she heard the hiss of the doors close. She brought a hand up to her cheek, still warm from Liara's touch, and stumbled backward into her quarters, allowing the doors to close. Her fingers caressed her lips, bringing a smile to her face as the echo of that last kiss replayed in her senses. She was struck with the sudden urge to spin in circles or run around really fast, to squeal and relish in the giddiness she was feeling at the moment.

She flopped herself back down on the bed, still grinning ear to ear, feeling like she was ready to take on the galaxy.

_Yeah, tonight was a very good night_, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

* * *

_**A/N: **And with that, the story is complete! I hope you all enjoyed this story. Hopefully me calling my Shepard by her first name didn't put off too many of you ;) I definitely plan on writing more about her and Liara in the future!  
_

_I want to give MAJOR thanks to my beta reader, Gogoplata, who helped me develop my storytelling skills. This probably would have remained an unfinished, unpolished Word document sitting on my laptop if it weren't for his assistance._


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